Sometimes You Just Have To Laugh...

Okay, so last night Jeff told me he was going to the store. I wanted to make some beef barley soup and chicken enchiladas this week and sent him off with a shopping list. He brought Ben and Sam with him. The list was kinda long and as they drove away...I started to chuckle...realizing I had just sent a long hand written shopping list with two people with Dyslexia and for added entertainment they had Sam along who was going to attempt to introduce them to everyone in the store. I figured the first call would come shortly after they arrived at the store, and it did.

Jeff and Ben, reading the same list needed clarification if I needed chilies or chives. In the background I can hear Sam saying "Hi Lady" and I knew he was doing a meet and greet as these two were trying to understand the list. We hung up and the phone rang again as they were absolutely positive that the store did not sell stewed tomatoes. I asked them what kind of tomatoes the store did have...Jeff yelled chopped, Ben was reading crashed tomatoes which I interpreted as crushed and then came the debate on what is the difference between crushed tomatoes and tomato sauce...wouldn't a crushed tomato be sauce???? Jeff told him the sauce was the thick stuff, which I corrected him and said that would be tomato paste. At that point I got a chorus of "Whatever".

The fun continued as I heard Jeff tell Sam to watch where he was going. I guess Sam was in charge of pushing the shopping cart. Not exactly a choice I would make but it seemed to be kinda working for them or at least provided a needed distraction from the meet and greets. Jeff then asked me if barley was a noodle?? I explained that it was a grain and to be sure not to get the quick cooking...you've probably already guessed that we got the quick cooking. Ben was checking off everything on the list and naming things that they still needed to get including green onions which he clarified were the long green things that Uncle Randy likes to eat and how do you buy them in a bunch, how many is a bunch? I heard Sam pipe in "Daddy come here, say Hi". I knew Jeff was off being introduced to yet another unaware member of our small community. Ben assured me that they had everything on the list. Yep, you guessed it, I was back at the store today picking up a few missed items. All in all, it was a wonderful learning experience, more of our community has now personally been introduced to Jeff and Ben is positive that two recipes can't use that many ingredients.

This is just one of many experiences where Dyslexia and Down syndrome have touched and enriched our lives. I say enriched because this could have been viewed as a challenging situation but instead we have learned to laugh and appreciate the differences. Sam's meet and greets have introduced me to perfect strangers throughout our county and I have always enjoyed their reactions. Some embrace the situation, some find it humorous and some can't get away fast enough. In these situations I tell them that Sam thinks I need more friends or that I am just very happy to meet them. I don't apologize because this boy breaks down social barriers faster than anyone I know. He greets everyone and anyone.

Dyslexic moments in our home are daily occurrences. Jeff and Ben both struggle with pulling out the right word at times. We have laughed hysterically when Jeff explained to us that Shirley Temple was a little girl when he was a little girl, when he has told the kids to put on their pajamas because it was time for school, when he asked Sam to eat his sawdust (which actually was applesauce with a capsule that kinda looked like it contained sawdust), when he told me to bring him a glass of soup...just to name a few. I am used to Ben's skipping across a room to release some energy, talking on the house phone while texting while scanning and printing something off Craig's List. I have laughed along with Ben as Dragon Naturally Speaking has interpreted what he dictated as "your purple amoeba is ruffled". This is our life....and I love and try to appreciate it as much as I can....but sometimes you just have to laugh.