September 2, 2020

Since Robert’s program closed in the middle of March, Robert’s sleep pattern has changed. He sleeps longer than he did before, as if he believed that there were no reasons to get up. It is the behavior I observed in the past during those times (13 and 9 years ago.) when Robert didn’t have any program to attend to. He didn’t want to get out of bed before 10 and sometimes, he stayed in bed until noon.  I relatively quickly realized that without a class to go to, Robert felt that there was no point of getting up. So, I had to prove otherwise. It wasn’t difficult to do so. Movie theaters, museums, restaurants, zoos were all opened. The stores didn’t ask for “just one person from a household” to do the shopping. There were swimming classes and horseback lessons to attend. Yes, there was no classroom for him to learn, but the rest of the world was accepting him.  The fact that there were many places to go to, motivated Robert not only to get up relatively early but also to patiently study with me. But of course, he still wanted to go to school.

It is different now. We, Robert’s aging parents, won’t take him to restaurants, even though they are open. The matter of fact, we don’t take Robert anywhere but to different parks.  No movies, no stores, no Roger William Park and Zoo, no hotels, no museums. Just parks.

Thus, the daily walks became highlights of Robert’s days. Each day after lunch, he makes plans for the next day. He tells me what he expects for dinner and where he wants to go for a walk. One day, he says, “Cranberry Bog” another day he says, “Blue Hill”,  And that is where he goes.  But not only there. Because the trail in Cranberry Bog is relatively short – less than 20 minutes, he also goes to either Audubon in Stony Brook or Moose Hill (Boardwalk Trail). But that is not all. Since Robert’s sister, Amanda,  came home, she has been taking Robert on a second excursions of the day.  They usually go to the places he never hikes with his father. They walk on different and usually longer trails in Moose Hill (Bluff and Vernal Poll). They explore  Boardwalk leading to  the Ponkapoag Pond in Blue Hills, or Endean trail along Neponset River.

Clearly, the walks became very important for Robert. So, when in the morning, Robert responds second or third time to my attempts to wake him up with  “Five more minutes” , I do remind him what is planned for the day and he gets up.

To my surprise, however, there were also equally valid reasons for Robert to start the day.  The need to fold laundry or put away the dishes!

Fulfilling his obligations!

T