24-Sep-08 - Seeing Orange

Parker just said the strangest thing. He had been jumping on the rebounder, and he came into the dining room and stared up at the chandelier (it was off). With an introspective frown, he said to the air in general, "I don't want the orange to come out." He seemed genuinely disturbed, so I probed.

"What orange?"
"The orange up in the sky."
"Where does the orange come out, Parker?"
"Up in the sky." [By this he generally means anywhere in the air above his own height.]
"When does the orange come out?"
"When I get on the truck," he said. We just got the wooden ride-on truck out of the closet yesterday.

I asked if it "comes out" when he jumps on the rebounder. "No," he says, "when I get on the truck." Are they just in the dining room? "Yes. And also in the living room." I asked if it was like little orange lights and he gave me dubious assent.

The only thing I can think of is seeing stars, like maybe he got dizzy on the rebounder. The boys spent a lot of time today spinning in the living room until they fell down. Maybe he kept getting back on his truck after that and associates the sensation with his truck.

It was just so strange. It was one of those moments when you realize there is a whole world inside that little person. That world could be entirely different from anything you have ever known, and you might never realize it. The little guy would have no way of knowing, let alone communicating about it.

Well, anyway, I'll let you know if I see any orange in the air around here.