Have you ever seen a bird nest with eggs *not* in a neat little pile? Look what our robin did yesterday and today. Lined up the eggs just like my autistic boys love to do. Not so much anymore, but when Orion was young ... he would line up *everything* and God help ya if you moved *anything* from his line-ups by even a hair!
He knew immediately and would have classic melt-down. Like the book "Who Moved My Cheese??!!!" Freak out. It was never pretty. They still line things up but it's more grouped and patterned now. For instance, Ben will make a circle of books or videotapes or make a line of books from one side of the room to the other, interspersed with a sock or shoe, or other odds and ends. Orion makes groupings of things that have definite subject matter, such as a Pokemon displays or a specific Lego display. But there will still be the odd arrangement on the floor with bits of string, paper clips, pebbles, plastic rings, gizmos, gadgets, and all kinds of stuff. Of course, the arrangements look rather random and only he really knows exactly what it all means. If you have a free 3 hours or so, he's always happy to chatter non-stop for those 3 horus to explain it all in great detail.
He knew immediately and would have classic melt-down. Like the book "Who Moved My Cheese??!!!" Freak out. It was never pretty. They still line things up but it's more grouped and patterned now. For instance, Ben will make a circle of books or videotapes or make a line of books from one side of the room to the other, interspersed with a sock or shoe, or other odds and ends. Orion makes groupings of things that have definite subject matter, such as a Pokemon displays or a specific Lego display. But there will still be the odd arrangement on the floor with bits of string, paper clips, pebbles, plastic rings, gizmos, gadgets, and all kinds of stuff. Of course, the arrangements look rather random and only he really knows exactly what it all means. If you have a free 3 hours or so, he's always happy to chatter non-stop for those 3 horus to explain it all in great detail.
9 comments:
Awwwww...........cute! (is this Orion or Ben??) Look at that wonderful red hair!!
FUNNY!!! (about the lined-up robin's eggs!) (why do all the cool, funny, NEAT, REMARKABLE things happen over at Tink's house??) :-)
I took a walk along the river today (at work)(our campus has a little river running through it), and guess what I saw? A "teen" robin shuffling around along the banks. I accidentally startled it (and myself!) and it flew off. But it was definitely a teen. Still all fluffy and cute.
That is incredibly interesting Tink. Wow. it leaves me a bit speechless. In an odd way, maybe this bird feels comfortable in your/her surroundings, it is familiar. Animals sense energy, that is how they survive.
I would love to spend 3 hours with the explaination. It is truly fascinating. Do you understand when he tells you?
And yes, that haircolour, I have people pay me good $ for that colour, and he has it god sent! :)
xox
Hi Lucy and Grace! First, no no! That pic is one from another mom who posted it a couple years ago. It was a *perfect* example of the lining up, so I borrowed it. Yes, he has incredible gorgeous red hair. So adorable. That is cool Lucy ... a "teen" robin .. lol! I love that image. Great thoughts, Grace! Well, yesterday .. Sarah and I put up some 4th of July bunting and hanging decorations around the porch. I should have known that birds are a bit "autistic." Must have really put the mother robin off, because she never came back to the nest. I took the hanging twirling things down last night, but she still didn't come back. This morning, I took down the flag bunting on the rail near the nest. I'll see if she comes back this morning. I feel just awful. I was very coolish last night down to mid the mid 50s. I don't know if the eggs will be okay with her off the nest this long. It has been about 12 hours now.
Weird thing ... when I walked out to take Ben to his summer camp bus this morning, there was a little sparrow perched on the side of the planter looking in at the nest. If the robin doesn't return, maybe we'll have a surrogate in the sparrow.
I hardly slept last night, worrying about those eggs. I hope she comes back and they're okay. But, it was a good lesson in routine, sameness, familiar surroundings for both birds and autistic people. One little glitch in the environment of comfort/safety, and it can affect an entire system. :o( Well, here's hoping something good happens with this today.
Oh Tink, that's so cute. I thought the child in the photo was yours, but, just the same, he is adorable.
There is something to be said about order. I'm sure that, for a person who's world seems small, even the lining-up of their belongings brings a sense of peace and comfort along with that order.
As far as the robin goes, she found the perfect home... I hope she returns.
And one last word - there's nothing like getting your ducks in a row!
lol Dale See? I wished for something good to happen, and here you are! :o)
Yes, there is much comfort in the things the boys arrange and the focus it gives them. lol ... I almost wrote that about "ducks in a row" .. hehe!
When Orion builds his "contraptions" or makes arrangements, he often explains it as having to do with saving the world. I think it's neat, because so many "typical" little boys play exactly that way, only with Superheroes and/or shoot-em-ups. He just does it in a different way!
~*~ GOOD NEWS! ~*~ After I removed the flag bunting from the railing, I noticed Mama Robin watching closely from the neighbor's roof. That was it! In about 30 minutes, she returned to the nest and fussed over the eggs, and there she remains at this moment. She only left 2x for food foraging.
I pray to God that those little robins survived the cool night. We'll know in a couple days. If they do hatch (they're due this weekend) the kids want to name them appropriately for the 4th of July. 1. Uncle Sam 2. George Washington 3. Martha Washington or maybe Dolly (Dolly Madison.) (Of course, we assume they'll be 2 boys and 1 girl.) lol
Now, the icing on the cake will be the Publisher's Clearinghouse Grand Prize win. :o)
The decorations may have scared Mama Robin. But I am so happy she has returned. She probably was watching you and waited for the right time. cool!!
I love that you called June, a minx! It is a perfect name for her! Spot on.
What an amazing continuing saga, Tink, not least because you're so tuned in to it all! As AMAZING as it was that Mama Robin shunned the bunting and then noticed immediately that you'd taken it down, it's also amazing how much YOU noticed about the robin's routine. I too hope the eggs survived. Or, I should say, the OCCUPANTS of the eggs. Fingers crossed for you all. (and having positive thoughts about seeing new robin toddlers in the nest again soon)...
Happy Third!
BTW -- I love the names your kids have already picked out. Nice and PATRIOTIC. (is it still legal to be patriotic? ;-))
P.S. love the name Orion.
Thanks Grace and Lucy ... haven't been on 'puter. Well, not so good news, I'm afraid. The new batch didn't survive. :o( Will post up in a few.
xo
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