Completely Normal! 02.07.07

Robbie (as you may have noticed) can be a bit irritating at times. He has to do things his way and if I deviate from the plan (which only exists in his head) he becomes completely irrational and I always end up having to do it his way just to shut him up. It can be very simple things like how I set the plates out when I am dishing up our evening meal or how I load the trolley when we are shopping, I could go on ....and on, but I'm sure you get the idea. About once a week Robbie gives his "no, I'm not autistic" speech this always ends with him telling me that he is incredibly 'normal' compared to everyone else in the rail industry. Incredible as that sounds I haven't yet met anyone who has disproved his theory!

At the weekend the rain was responsible for a full scale tantrum from Robbie. I took him to Tesco's in the rain and when I turned the engine off the wipers were in the out position rather than tidily in the off position. He couldn't cope, he demanded that I turned the car back on so that I could put the wipers straight. When I refused he ranted, folded his arms, stuck out his lower lip like a sulky child and finally stomped off into the shop still muttering that it was simply wrong!

The rain has quite a lot to answer for, Robbie has decided that he would look good in a raincoat or to be blunt about it - a flasher mac. He even sent me the link to it on the M&S website and he was devastated when I burst out laughing and told him he couldn't possibly wear that! Poor old Robbie, he will have to be disappointed because there is no way that I am going to let him wear that!

Night Terrors 11.04.07

Robbie never tires of living dangerously, or perhaps he is just a slow learner. Last night he woke me at what I consider was 2am and he disputes as nearer to 1.15am. I wouldn't have minded him cuddling up to me, but he was having a full scale tantrum - because allegedly I had misappropriated his phone charger and not put it back. He absolutely has to have his phone on charge by the bed right next to the amplifier on his MP3 docking station so that every time the phone scans it seems as if a train has arrived at the side of the bed. Anyway after telling him to 'go away' or words that conveyed a similar meaning, I went back to sleep leaving the troll to his tantrum. He couldn't understand why I was still annoyed this morning!

Yesterday evening I managed to transform the washing mountain into a molehill with Robbie's help. He has an amazing skill when it comes to sorting the 'smalls' (or in Robbie's case 'not so smalls') when they come out of the dryer. I never know who owns what, but Robbie has a perfect memory for such things. He told me not to put that in the blog because he would get teased about it, but I don't see why I should play by the rules when he wakes me up in the middle of the night!

The Fridge Police

When I first met Robbie it wasn't 'love at first sight' but he has an energy and enthusiasm that is really unusual. He is interested in almost everything and he hoards nuggets of random information that tend to spill out at the oddest of times. He is passionate about trains, music, clothes, gadgets - the list goes on, it is one of his most attractive traits. I wouldn't want to change him, but sometimes life would be easier if he wasn't quite so passionate about the little things!

When we do the supermarket shop Robbie always takes responsibility for putting the food away, he is particularly possessive about the fridge. If anyone tries to be helpful (or brave) and alters the storage arrangements Robbie will take everything out and repack it to his satisfaction. Everything has it's own designated place. One day while shopping I picked up a different shaped bottle of tomato sauce because it was much better value. I got ‘the look’ - the Paddington bear stare with the pouting lip; I ignored it and told him not to be silly. Hostilities escalated and I was treated to a rather uncoordinated dance in the style of an angry troll, when this also failed he stalked off in search of his dignity. You may well ask why there was so much fuss about one bottle of tomato sauce - it was because the different bottle shape would not fit the fridge!! Ok I admit that I left Robbie in no doubt that I would have little difficulty in fitting it somewhere else! We have had no problems with sauce bottles since then, but the tea, coffee and sugar containers are an ongoing saga!