Mom Read a Book

Which really shouldn't surprise me (or you) since Mom reads lots of books.  But this one was significant, because she said the character in the book reminded her of me.  

Now, I gotta tell you.  I thought she was going to say it was because the character was so good looking.  Or maybe he was really smart.  Or perhaps he wanted to be President of the United States of America.

But no.  She said the character was a gal.  And this gal was Neuro-A-Typical.  I had to ask her what that meant, so we both looked it up in Google.  It basically means someone who is not normal.

So what is normal?  I asked Mom.  She laughed and said that was a really, really good question; because in today's world, normal got thrown out the window.  I said I didn't see anything being thrown out the window:  Sometimes Mom says things I just don't understand at all.  But she said, that was one of the things that made Ellie (the character in the book) seem like me.  She says I take things literally and sometimes don't know when she's talking in Figures of Speech. 

She said normal in the book meant someone who did not have Asperger's Syndrome.  Ellie did.  But Ellie dealt with the world by making a list of rules to live by.  And that's what Mom said also made her think of me; because she says I live by some of those same rules.

She said, Rule 1 was:  Being Polite is always a good idea.  Well we all know that I'm as polite as they come.  This is me politely asking Mom to take me out.  

And this is me politely letting other puppies have the water before I do:

Another Rule is: Not everyone who is nice to you is your friend.  Mom says Ellie struggled with this rule.  She trusted everyone especially when they were nice to her.  I guess I do that sometimes, too.

I tried to make friends with the owl who came by to sit up in the rafters. I figured the old owl who tries to scare the birds away was harmless, so this owl must be too.  Mom said I should be very careful because owls can be mean.  That's too bad, because I know owls are my Mom's favorite bird.  It must have been hard for her to tell me not to try and play with the owl.

Another way Ellie and I are alike, Mom said, is that sometimes Ellie just didn't feel like she fit in with the rest of the world.  Sometimes when we go to the dog park, I have a hard time playing with other dogs.  They sometimes just ignore me and play with their own friends.  

And sometimes I just don't fit in because I don't fit. (Tee hee!) 

And finally, Mom says Ellie had to learn a lot of things by just making mistakes.  I guess I resemble that a lot.  Remember this mistake?

I haven't had a golf ball for a snack in a very long time.  I guess I learned that lesson.

Mom says you might like "The Seven Rules of Elvira Carr" by Frances Maynard.  She says it was a poignant and hopeful story.  I like that word.  Maybe since I'm like Ellie Carr, I am poignant, too?

Or maybe not.

Love, G