Torn and Worn Out

For as long as I can remember, I have thought “If only I could get inside Riley’s brain for 5 minutes to see how he thinks.”  That maybe somehow, it would help me to understand all the “whys and whats” of Riley World. What is he thinking/feeling?  Why does he do that?  What makes him do that?

As the years have gone on, I now think “If only I could get inside Riley’s brain for at least 5 HOURS to see how he thinks.”  Because yes, often times I am still left perplexed and confused as to what makes Riley World tick.

This morning I woke to find this…

Yup, this was the t-shirt that Riley had been obsessing about getting for his birthday. A shirt that was not expensive but not readily available. As in Sherlock Holmes would have been proud of me for actually finding one.

It stayed intact for 4 days, 7 hours and 23 minutes. The hours and minutes are a guess on my part. But some time in the wee hours of June 26^th, the Jamaica Fun in the Sun shirt that Riley was SO excited about receiving on his birthday met its demise. Oh and there were the 3 remaining cans of Sprite emptied into the sink downstairs as well.

As much as I try to maintain a neutral demeanour, I am sure Riley could sense my frustration when I tried to ask him about it this morning. Things started to escalate rather quickly. He got quite agitated, started to yell and I could see his body tensing. I decided to cut my losses because there is really no point in ruining the entire day over 3 cans of pop and a $10 t-shirt.  

You may be asking yourself, “Why do you keep buying him pop if he just dumps it down the sink? Why do you keep buying him the same DVDs?  Why does he keep ripping/shredding his shirts?”  I have been asking myself those same questions for a number of years now. And I got nothing. 

Well, that’s not entirely true. As far as the DVDs and pop are concerned, at 26 years old, Riley’s wants are not anywhere near what a typical twenty-something would want. Quite frankly, his wants are not what any typical teenager would want either. His wants are more in line with the 7-9 year old age group (his cognitive age)…if that. So why wouldn’t I keep buying cases of pop for under $5/case or keep buying the same DVD’s over and over and over again when that is what makes him happy. It sure beats the latest technology of Apple products or vehicles that your typical twenty-somethings want.

When I relate our stories, I am not looking for pity or accolades for that matter. If you can take away some awareness and a little understanding for a world that is different from your own, that is what would make sharing Riley World worthwhile to me.  

And because I like to leave things on a positive note…Thank GOD it's Friday and 5 o’clock somewhere! I'm going to be starting early tonight.  

A Pandemic Birthday Celebration

Yesterday we celebrated not one but two events. Well, to be clear, Riley was only interested in one…HIS birthday. Father’s Day was just a slight blip on his radar and only after some rather blatant helpful hints did he acknowledge it. 

With the pandemic, we were not able to go out for Riley’s usual birthday Udon. But we were able to have my sister’s family over for take-out. They are part of our extended family bubble. It’s the first time we have gotten together and thankfully the weather cooperated so we were able to be outside. 

2 Bowls of Plain Udon - that face says it all!

My sister's family - they sat together at their own table. 

This year Riley’s list had only 4 items on it. The number one desire was a t-shirt. A particular t-shirt. A t-shirt like the one we got in Jamaica when we were on a cruise 3 years ago. Seriously???  He usually starts his birthday list as soon as Christmas is over so it gives me a LOT of time to do the research. Long painful story short…I found one. 

Riley hasn't quite caught on that I wrap presents in different boxes. He was slightly confused as to why he would be getting slippers. 

His new "home" shirt!  He came down wearing it while we were still eating dessert. 

Oh...and because we can't have more than one "home" shirt at a time...found this in our hamper this morning...