Welcome to Planet Jellybean

First off I have to say that Planet Jellybean is a cozy place. It is comfortable and familiar. It is populated by beloved characters and much happiness. It is where Alex spends a fair amount of time, and Kevin and I get to visit often. On Planet Jellybean the street signs are friendly and many ordinary things in our world take on great importance. The inhabitants of Planet Jellybean change over time, and that is part of it's charm. We read a story about it's most famous inhabitants just before bedtime tonight. Wall-E is a very nice robot trash compactor, and if you have not seen his movie you must. We read his book and Alex vibrated with excitement and was again thrilled with the story end. We have Wall-E toys, a Wall-E book, and the movie. We have learned that we cannot watch favorite movies endlessly, so they are limited to about once a month. This month we will visit the DVD on March 17, a very important day as it is a national holiday, and also Grandma Wahly's birthday.

If we watch a particular movie too much we get into trouble, which leads me to the second most popular set of celebrities currently on the planet. Alex has a new set of friends that includes a lion, a zebra, a hippo, some penguins, and a best friend, a giraffe named Melman. A hypochondriac giraffe, at that. He talks about Melman, he talks to Melman, and currently has 3/4 of Melman's dialog in Madagascar memorized. Yes, we have watched it too often in this cabin fever time of winter. I think both Kevin and I showed it on the sly to the boy, for some extra exciting time (or to get him to tolerate a haircut) and now we are paying for it. I will take it as a compliment that Alex called to me today, saying, "Melman. Melman!!" I said, "I am not Melman!". He replied, "Melman Mama, come here!!!".

We drive a lot on Planet Jelly Bean. Alex sits in the back and makes his fists into a steering wheel, and gives me a running commentary on driving. It is so pleasant to hear, because we learned last year that early on, when a child with autism is silent, it is not because they are thinking deep thoughts. It is because they have no thoughts at all, that they are not 'saying' anything inside their own head. First children have to talk out their thoughts, then they internalize that voice later on. Well, we are talking out now, and that is just fine. We talk about driving, we talk about the street signs, we talk about what has happened, and we talk a little bit about what is going to happen. Talk of the past is a very recent thing, and I am grateful for it. In my younger days I was all about living in the moment, being fully present in the present, and damn the past and future. This is still all zen and good, but. But if all you have is the present... you are quite limited. Anyone seen 50 First Dates? I have read other accounts of people with no memory and no planning ability and it is not cute, it is scary. We are building that frame work for Alex right now. He is just getting how the past works, and how to talk about the past. We started learning in a consistent way with street signs. Consistent, predictable, and repeatable. Especially in our neighborhood and on common routes. It is coming along. As for the future (tense that is), well it remains quite anxiety provoking. I suspect it is a vast ocean for our Jelly Bean inhabitant, so we need to start building some boats and sailing them. But for now we are just looking out from shore.

So, what else is happening on Planet Jelly Bean? Well, all the street signs are familiar, and Alex gets to drive well before his next eleven birthdays go by. There are many trains, and many more railroad crossing signs, all with bells, lights, and gates. Every body of water has a Lift Bridge. The foods are all carbs and mostly crunchy, the drinks are milk or apple jucie. No dreaded "Just water". Jack puppy and Lucky dog play all day, and Alex can drag Beeswax around any which way without getting into trouble. There are ball pits, gym mats, and zip lines galore. All the ski hills have Magic Carpets, and he never has to turn. Tricycles are everywhere and the sidewalks are all flat. There are zero entry warm pools in every neighborhood, and the exciting fountains and water mushrooms are a safe distance away. Books abound and he never has to take his favorites back to the library. He gets to go to friends houses to play every day, but can go home anytime. There is a birthday party every week for someone. It's not such a bad place, this planet. I will be sure to give you updates from time to time. We certainly spend enough time there.

PS Kevin came up with the name... of course.