June 6, 2021

I have not written anything during the last six months. What should I write if everything seems to remain the same? Weekends are not different than weekdays.

Every day now, Robert sleeps longer than he used to as if there was no reason to get up early. He eats his breakfast, studies with me, goes for the walk to one of  parks, eats late lunch/dinner, naps, watches TV, or completes a project, and, after a small supper and a long bath, he goes to sleep.

I realized how much more he sleeps at home when we traveled to his grandmother in Pennsylvania. During the five days we spent there, Robert was awaken very early and ready for new places and new experiences. However, as soon as he returned home, the sleeping became his favorite activity again.

He sleeps as if repeating the same pattern of food and activities was not a good reason to get up.

Yes, Robert likes patterns, and still expects his dinner menus to follow the nine day cycle:

poblano, eggplant, chicken fingers, hamburgers, poblano, eggplant, chicken fingers, hamburgers and TAKE OUT from one of his favorite restaurants.

He makes sure that this ninth day is special. So special that even the restaurant can be different each time.

There are at least 15 new trails Robert visited during the last year. However more than Audubon parks or Trustees reservation, Robert likes Blue Hill State Park. He insists on visiting Blue Hill at least twice a week.

He studies with me almost every day, but doesn’t insist, as he did in the past, that we complete all the worksheets left by me on the table. There is nothing very exciting about our studies lately. We mostly review what Robert learned (or at least was presented with in the past.) So, I cannot really claim that he learned something new. Since he doesn’t make recurring errors there is no reason for me to think about new approaches to teaching to address those errors.

The only thing he likes to do now, are the Kiwico projects which Robert completes with Amanda’s assistance twice a week.

He still prepares (almost independently) breaded chicken tenderloins, and helps with other dishes.

As before, he still does laundry. Using one of the words: “dark, colored or light” he informs me which pile of clothes he will wash. Sadly, he often forgets to use laundry detergent or change the washing cycle.

The only new development is Robert rinsing dishes and placing them in the dishwasher!  He does it, without being asked every time he notices a few dirty plates or bowls in the sink. Lately, he even dared to wash a few pots and pans.

Unfortunately, he poured all the oil from the pan into the drain.

Oh, well.