Groundhog Day

Everyone knows the Bill Murray film, "Groundhog Day." It's a modern classic -- funny, heartwarming, life lessons imparted with a light touch.

It occurred to me the other day that I am, in fact, living 'Groundhog Day.'

One of my stepsons, 23-year-old David*, is on the autism spectrum. While fairly high-functioning in some areas (he has a strong appreciation for the buxom blonde!), in others he's closer to a 7-8-year-old, situation depending. Very social and fluent with the cell phone, David makes calls, sends texts and sets up plans that would keep me and his dad running in circles if we didn't occasionally say, "no way."

What I'm learning, though, is that David is a young man of rituals and repetition. Every morning, we go through a routine in my home office that's something like this:

"Hi, stepmom. How did you sleep?"
"It's sunny outside, stepmom."
"Where's Dad?"
"Where are the guys?"
"Do you have any money?"
"Who's coming here today?" (house is under renovation, remember?)
"Where's the dog?"
"What are you doing today?"
"Are you working today?"
"I'm going to take a shower at 10:30."
"I'll be back."
"I"m going to play."
"I'll be back."
"Who's at the door?"
"I'll be back."
"Can I play?"
"I'll be back."
"I'm going to the bathroom now."

When I shared this little exchange with a girlfriend, she was laughing so hard she couldn't breathe. Keep in mind, these questions come one right after another, sometimes without even waiting for an answer.

At night, there's a knock at our bedroom door,

David: "Dude, are you in there?"
the Mr.: "No."
David: "Dude, what are you doing?"
- side note - we're in bed, so sometimes we're just reading, but sometimes not, if you get my drift.
Mr.: "David, go to bed."
David: "Do you have money for me?"
Mr.: "I'll give it to you tomorrow."
David: "Can I come in?"
Mr.: "No!"
David: "What are you doing?"
Mr.: "Go to bed!"
David: "Where's stepmom?"

Okay, it's somewhat chuckle-worthy. But like Bill Murray's character early in the movie, I have not yet stopped fighting the repetition; it annoys me anew each day. Clearly, I'm the character that needs to do some learning.

Until next time, choose happy.

* Not his real name.