Cycling pictures that do not show the real picture

Hi Helen,

Yet again, the things you say about Alan could be me and Steve, and today in particular. Your experience of going out with the bikes mirrored ours in the garden this morning. Everything I thought he could do that was 'simple' was just soooooooooooooo 'not'.

I can point directly at things, I even pull his hand towards things and touch them and he veers off away from them as soon as I let go. He can't tell the green bin from the black bin or the brown bin, and when he touches the right one I say 'yes' and he still goes elsewhere. He was pulling 2 chairs apart and I said no they need to stay together (stacked), and he said that's what he was doing and spoke gobbledygook explaining why he was right. I've long since lost the need to be right through having to, but occasionally it does irk me.

I stayed very patient but inside I was reeling. Just a few small examples. Aaaargghhh!

And to repay me for my patience, he said I didn't speak to him properly either by saying the information he needed, or by speaking to him not-nicely and he can only have detected I was a bit annoyed but I didn't shout at him (today) or make him look like an idiot. But he went quiet for a few hours so we didn't even enjoy the experience of tending the lovely garden then sitting in it, til later.

So much for doing something easy together, there just is nothing now without problems. He loves going to any cafe for a cup of tea, which is fairly safe, but then we sit quiet because I can't think of anything to talk about because a) we're always together, and b) it starts off conversations littered with 'I don't understand' which I can only handle when calm and it doesn't matter. If I start saying something that matters I could kick myself for starting it as I have to try and explain before ending up having to leave it anyway unless I can surreptitiously distract him away.

Rant over.

PS I wonder if it was my Aunty Margaret or Uncle Tim who might have taken your pictures - was the photo-taker with a chocolate labrador? Unlikely I guess, but they are there every day as they live nearby. Fab photos that I'm sure you will treasure even more in the future.