A Printer

As a reincarnated 14th-century monk, Evan loves being able to quickly type and print the written word. This technology speeds up his transcribing of the scriptures, general conference talks, and the memoir he is writing. Evan loves having a printer and thinks it is pretty amazing.

As his source of laptops, paper, and ink, I enable his passion for printing. When I stopped by today, I was impressed with what appeared to be a book - typed and taped in a corner of his room. Also, we are out of black ink.

Something Stressful

My life was stressful in May. There was lots of uncertainty about housing, employment, and relationships. Evan apparently caught on to the uncertainty, because he started asking me very specific questions about the future - where are we going to live? what are we going to do? when will Parker visit? etc. Evan is a planner and things either happen or don't - so he needed answers.

One afternoon when we were driving I couldn't hear him very well because the windows were open and the radio was on. And I probably was not very excited to talk about probabilities and options. After mumbling some lame responses to his first questions, I had to ask him two or three times to repeat his last question.

Finally I rolled up the window and turned off the music and asked him to repeat his question. He said, "Something, something, something."

Sushi

The MIT Sloan cafeteria has cheap sushi. It tastes like pre-made refrigerated 8-buck sushi. When Evan gets it for lunch, he feels like a cultured king feasting.

Knowing that he loves eating out, had been at home too much lately and our evening plans had fallen through, I suggested we go out to eat. He agree quickly and asked where. I suggested the sushi place near our house. He point his finger at me, and approved with a smile and a click.

Despite how much Evan claims to like sushi, there is probably no other food that is constructed to be so difficult for a Downsy-boy to eat. Sushi rolls are just big enough that if you have a Down Syndrome-sized mouth (small) and a Down Syndrome-sized tongue (large) that they don't fit. Add poor fine motor skills and a stubborn social tendency to refuse accommodations. Finally eat where chopsticks are given and forks would need a special request. Ah. That was dinner.

Sushi is meant to be eaten in one bite. Small bites or piercing the seaweed/rice hoop with the chopsticks made every roll start to fall into pieces on his plate. Good thing Evan was hungry. He persevered and somehow made those two sticks stick in the food enough to bring it to his mouth.

A normal dinner budget spent on sushi does not go as far as cheap, plentiful, filling pasta. As we were walking back from the sushi restaurant we talked.

Me: Are you full or still hungry?
Evan: Keep going... Haven't had dessert yet!

Why Me?

At a recent cousin dinner, Brooke and Derek were trying to convince Grace that she should join them on a vacation. She'd get free travel and food; they'd get free a nanny. I volunteered Evan for the job. He quickly replied, "Wait! Why, why, why me?!?"

Parker's Visit

Parker's visit to Boston has been announced, prophesied, awaited, predicted, and asked about more in the last 6 months than any other event. Well, besides whoever's birthday is next.

The latest date was May 1st. We were really hoping for that one. Ok. I was really hoping for that one so Parker would go see Avengers 2 and I could go do anything else.

Still, we hope that someday soon he'll be able to come visit. Every once in a while, Evan will ask me questions about Parker's visit:

• Will we go to this place when Parker visits?
• Where will we eat when Parker visits?
• Will Parker come to my work when he visits?
• Will we go see the sea lions with Parker when he comes?

We talked about transportation yesterday:

Evan: Will Parker drive a car when he comes?

Me: Can he drive a stick? (my car is a manual transmission)

Evan: Not a stick! A car!

Me: You're right.

Guest Writer Post

This blog has featured Evan for months. But it seems unfair that his voice is always represented through my interpretations and translations. So, to describe our recent road trip from Boston to Florida, in unfiltered unedited Evanic, here is Evan:

Good     fun    work   plan    that you lesion hard people      study      reading   bastion

Church    thing    want something       place   see today    best   time   kwon is       so    

Home qbb    food    I  like    anything        love  so      people       have  things for niver        go  on  

Duck     school       place city  hstroy        good       tacking        does       right      got    put      day    weeday   summer vaction    

Piano Playing

Evan's friend who gives him a ride to the temple had a piano recital. It was seven 8-yr old boys and this 24-yr old friend. Pretty brave of her.

Some other friends were with us in the audience. The kids were playing songs that were 40-180 seconds long. Stopping in-between for applause.

Evan asked, "where is Mariah? Is she playing?"

When another friend didn't clap between two 20-second songs of a young boy, Evan asked, "Why aren't you clapping?" He answered, "I am texting."

The cookies were amazing. I had 2 and tried to have 3.

Old

Evan: Our family is old. Mom and Dad met 100 years ago.
Me: What?!?
Evan: Oh, oh, sorry. 33 years.