Happy Howen!

This morning, I said to Bob, "Happy Halloween!" Then I asked him if he knew what day tomorrow is? And he said, "Birthday!"

I was wowed, because last year, when I asked him the same question, he replied "All Saints Day" which is true, but not quite the answer I was anticipating. And, last year, when I asked that question again, he had told me "Monday?"

So this year he remembers my birthday!

This morning, I gave him an "assignment" to make me a birthday card. I did this because I thought perhaps a little project like that would get him back into his drawing mode. Hoping he'd make a little surrealist birthday card drawing. He hasn't drawn a thing now for several months, mostly because he's been fixated on the pain in his foot. Anyway, I left him with a clipboard and a folded piece of paper and his graphic art pencils and I went to the kitchen to do the dishes. Pretty soon he was calling to me and he sounded quite upset. This is what he had drawn:

Bob said, "Wrong!"

I said, "Yeah, I asked for a birthday card and that's a Halloween card."

He pointed to the word "howen" that he written on the card and said, "Not right!"

"Yes, it's not right. That's not how you spell 'Halloween'. Though it's close."

He tapped his forehead and said, "My brain -- fucked up."

I told him it was OK and brought him a fresh piece of paper to start over with. I went back into the kitchen and pretty soon he was calling me again, but this time when I arrived at his side, the paper was still blank.

He said, "Pen?"

So I went and got him a pen. Which he handed back to me. I said, "I'm not making my own birthday card." And I gave him back the pen.

He said, "Um, birthday?" and insisted on handing me the pen and I handed it back to him and told him I certainly was not going to draw my own card. This went on for awhile, the pen being handed back and forth, and me getting sort of frustrated, before I finally figured out that what he wanted was for me to write down the words "Happy Birthday" so he could copy them.

Which I did. And this is what I got:

All righty. Not exactly what I was expecting, but... it's truly heartwarming.

Meanwhile, Happy Howen, everyone! And Bob has thrush (in his mouth) and his PT/INR has skyrocketed and tomorrow I will spend my birthday taking him to the doctor's office.....