Art By Paul Rabaud

I read a thing with someone referring to Tim and Eric as "religious fundamentalism for people with autism" and I still haven't recovered

And then, suddenly, after the ache fades, someone is making you laugh so hard your sides hurt, and you apologize because you’re used to being “too much,” and they say they want you to be as much as you are— no more, no less. And you wonder how it was that you ever accepted anything else.

I went on an adventure today to return a pillow to IKEA with my coworker Astrid.

We were having a nice day and got stuck in traffic coming home. On the way her phone rang and she was driving so she declined the call with a sigh. “I feel so bad for him,” she said.

“You know that number?”

She did. It turns out her phone number had previously belonged to a woman named Serena. The man calling was her dad. He had Alzheimer’s and didn’t remember his daughter was dead, so he just called the number he knew was hers.

I was stricken to hear this. “Do you talk to him?”

“Yeah. Sometimes he thinks I’m her and we talk. I have a notebook with facts I’ve learned about her so I can connect with him better. Sometimes he knows I’m not her and I say I’m her friend.”

I struggled with the beauty and humanity of this for a moment. “What’s his name?”

“I don’t know; I just call him Dad.”

We sat in silence and I was overwhelmed with feelings. That she was so kind and thoughtful about this random connection. A man who called and spoke to her with love for the daughter he missed.

"One time," she added, "he called me just after I had a difficult day with my mom. I knew Serena and her mom had a rocky relationship so I talked to him about my frustrations with my own mother and he gave the following advice: ‘Everyone fails sometimes, even parents; what's important is to communicate with our loved ones, even when it's difficult.’

“I have never forgotten that advice and it healed a portion of my heart."

in recognition of World Down Syndrome Day on March 21

lol

my idfea for a new state id like to call "sexual texas"

"in the future, boys and girls will be next to impossible to tell apart. even in bed."

-- david byrne

finally, someone for tumblr