Big Ten

Taking up the thread from Mom-NOS, here are ten ways Joey and I are alike:

1. Neither of us like hot water on our hands or feet. Water than my mom thought cold used to send me screaming when I was a kid. Joey hates hot stuff, too.

2. Neither of us like to wear shoes. Bare feet are best.

3. We both love numbers. Onceupon a time, I was the top math student in my high school. Counting is comforting.

4. We both collapse when tickled. As in, lose all motor control, heap on the floor.

5. We both love Christmas, and sparkly Christmas ornaments. We both love nothing better than to spend an afternoon at Valley View.

6. We both love to cuddle. Even when Joey was teeny tiny, he loved nothing better than to be in bed with Mom and Dad, getting squished. :)

7. We both love the ocean. We could just stand at the surf and watch the undulation of the sea forever.

8. When in doubt, we both smile. Joey excudes positiveness. I have often been asked, "do you always smile?" I wish I could honestly reply "yes."

9. We both have little patience for eating. It takes me a lot of effort and energy to sit until everyone at the dinner table is finished- as soon as I have eaten, I'm ready to move on. Ditto for him. Sitting still is not something either of us do well.

10. We both have scattered interests. I know the common idea of autistics is a hyper-focus on a narrow range of topics, but for us, we tend to scatter and not hold too much interest in a single topic for too long. I'll watch one movie over and over for a few days straight, but then my brain moves on to hyper-focus on the next topic. Joey does this- he hones in for a few days, then moves on.

Ten ways I am like Andy:

1. We both love strawberry stuff. Yum!

2. We both like to look at packages in the graocery store. Some labels are really interesting!

3. We both like animals. I wanted to be a vet once upon a time and another life ago. Andy just adores anything furry. Or scaly. Or breathing.

4. We both have the devil in us. And that's a good thing.

5. We both like to look at books in bed. Usually together. :)

6. We both like flowers. I like looking at them and smelling them. He likes pulling them apart and finding out how they grow.

7. We both find car rides relaxing. He still gets to take a nap.

8. Neither of us like cacophony. We both find it highly disorienting and irritating. Andy will actually scream, then pace and track like Joey after being exposed to sudden loud noise, like when the band starts up at church.

9. Neither of us like cheese goldfish. I prefer plain. He likes pretzel.

10. We both like to make things. Andy loves little art projects, even if he likes keeping his fingers clean.

Anyone else want to play?