For those of you who are unfamiliar with this particular greeting, please go read the wonderful children’s classic, Charlotte’s Web. For the rest of you, season’s greetings! My muse has been silent for a bit, but Mr. Boo has not. He has continued to hoot, flap, and burble just like he always has. The past few days have been rough for him, though. He managed to lose, somewhere in the house, both his Ipad and his glasses. Without these two things, he is essentially mute and blind. This is not a good thing for anyone, least of all a busy Boo Bear. After three days of ransacking the house, I found a back up pair of glasses and an Ipad that was on sale at Best Buy. I put the glasses on Boo and dispatched Robert to the big box store. An hour later, he was back with a new Ipad, I booted it up, and calm was (somewhat) restored to the Herndon household.
It is hard to explain what an Ipad mean to Boo Bear. It is a means of communication, but it is also a comfort item. He is adept at using the device to tell me where he wants to go, what he wants to eat, who he wants to see, etc. But, he also has a large cache of music and pictures and games with which he likes to interact. He will curl up on his bed and happily look at pictures of his beloved PCAs, A or P, or listen to his tunes. He likes to play the game Odd One Out. As a small child, he never had a lovey or a certain stuffed animal or blanket that he could not be without. He did not develop sentimental attachments to things, just to people. At age 16, his Ipad has become his lovey. It goes everywhere with him, except when it is on the charger and he gets impatient for it to recharge.
The loss and then replacement of the Ipad actually came at a good time. He does not have many Christmas presents under the tree, nor does he really care. He is not a fussy kid, or a demanding one. He does not care about cool clothes or the hottest trends. All he really wants is to be surrounded by his favorite people, be taken to interesting places and to have his Ipad in his hand and his glasses on his nose. He is a pretty easy fellow to entertain. So, to the Boo Bear of my heart, Merry Christmas. I am delighted that you can once again see and interact with the world. And, when the other Ipad eventually shows up, we will have a back up. All is calm, all is bright, all is good. Peace.
Harriet's Hedgehogs and Autism Advocacy 