Mistakes that almost make me say something.

Sweetie Pie pilfering cat food. She swears the cat food fell into her mouth..

These are mistakes I have been guilty of that I get the urge to correct people.

Chest of drawers mistakenly called Chester drawers. 

I like vittles spelled in the old way which is Victuals but still pronounced vittles. 

Waist coat is pronounced weskit. It is not a "waist" coat. 

I leave words out like an, am, or a word that makes a sentence flow. 

I take my developmentally disabled brother with me everywhere I go. This has been true for the past 25 years. Now that it is me and him, I seem to notice things that have always happened. I suspect a slower pace is the root. 

I'm used to people assuming he is my hen pecked husband. I remember my mom could give such detailed instructions. My mom was a master from child rearing. My brother does not process two steps. He does the first one then you have to tell him what to do next. 

Which leads to things that have happened this past week.

1. A man wanted my brother to help him move a heavy piece of furniture. Thankfully, the man waffled on whether they both could move it. I would have had to tell him no. My brother is 73 and I don't allow him to lift or move heavy objects. He is unable to tell you how he hurts, Plus 73 and heavy lifting does not mix. 

2. I was moving 40 count bottles of water into the shopping buggy. That is about 40 pounds. My sister only drinks bottled water and this was a good price. So I was getting the entire limit of 5. After moving
the last one onto the cart, a man walks by and makes a comment to my brother about letting his wife do the heavy lifting. 

3. I order my brother's food at a restaurant. Some servers looks at me funny like why don't you let him talk. Occasionally, I let them have their wish. They immediately look at me for the order. They always present my brother with the bill when he has finished eating. At the doctor's office, I try to not speak unless I need to. My brother will look at me when he needs an answer. 

4. At the grocery store, the cashier was an older woman and she assumed my brother was paying. I used my card to pay via the machine. She quips, "he turned away when I told him how much." I just smiled at her. I have had to train him not to pull his wallet out in public and show his money off. I allow him to pay and show his money off at the nail salon. They are safe. Albeit, they usually lecture me about letting him have that money. I had borrowed a twenty from him one day. I paid him back with a fifty so he could give me 30 in change in ones to make that wallet a little smaller. 

What impresses me are people who recognize my brother's disability.  It is a bit of relief in that my brother loves to talk. Don't we all. I only pay attention to people in that it is a safety issue for my brother. But when I meet these rare souls, I step aside. It is interesting what they coax out of my brother. My brother tells everyone we meet that he is from Peach County and there are a few standard tales he likes to share. My dad was military like his dad and many generations before. My brother has that toughness to him. I cringe a bit with the macho talk at times. But these folks usually get the flow. 

Now the conversation I hate is the "gee, gaw" I'm talking to developmentally disabled person and I am so nice. It is not a natural conversation. Plus, I like my brother respected and on a certain level they are not treating him like a regular person. My brother may be limited intellectually but he is still a 73 year old man and no fool. It is uncanny how he can size people up.

My dad had a twin sister who did not like my mother. There is a special relationship twins have and my dad had to choose and it was my mother he chose. My aunt's children asked me what the problem was between my mother and their mother at her wake. I shared that tidbit with them. There were some other factors in play but that was the gist of it. One day out of the blue my brother said he did not like this aunt. I asked him why. He said, "She don't like mom." 

When I have workmen in my home how they react to my brother tells me volumes about them. I usually have my brother busy in his room when I first meet with them. Many start talking to him as the man of the house. Since I am paying and making the decision, I like to make the deal directly. I had my house re-piped last year. I liked the way the plumber and his assistant took the time to speak with my brother while they were working. It was an honest exchange of which I do not know, I went back into the living room.