I’m not sure if I have told you all before but I have an amazing 13-year-old daughter with Asperger’s, which is one of the forms of autism. One of the funny things that happen is the way we use words but they don’t always mean the same. I know it’s like this with other children but with her sometimes it can lead to a very funny and awkward conversation.
When we go to see a movie she likes to sit between her father and I. A few months ago we went to see Justice League because we all love action movies. At one point they are showing Cyborg and he is upset about what his father has done to him. She turns to me at this point and says “Wow Cyborg is Hot!” This is the first time I have heard her say something like that so I was in a state of shock the rest of the movie because I realized this was something a typical 13-year-old would say. After the movie, we are sitting in the lobby waiting for my husband to get back from the restroom. I ask her how she liked the movie and she said she loved it. So I asked her about her thinking Cyborg was hot. She said “Don’t you think he’s hot?” and I replied, “Nope, I think Aquaman is hot.” She got this strange look on her face and then said: “What are you talking about he’s not hot.” I guess at this point I was the one with the strange look on my face because she said “Didn’t you see the red in the middle of Cyborg’s chest? It was like fire.” It was then that I realized she was talking about hot as in temperature where I was talking about hot as sexy. Finally, my husband gets done and as we are walking to the car she proceeds to tell her father that she thinks Cyborg is hot because of the red flame but I think Aquaman is hot even though he’s not. So my husband looks at me looks at her and looks back at me and starts laughing. Later in the car, I ask her if she knew why I called Aquaman hot and her response was classic “Because you think he has to stay warm underwater?” So I decided to leave it at that.
I’m telling you most people think that having a child with autism is so hard with not a lot of good times but it is these little moments (especially with a 13-year-old) that make everything worthwhile. Not sure if I should be worried that my husband knows I like Jason Momoa but I’m sure it isn’t shocking since I like Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and Hugh Jackman too. What I am really happy about is the innocence that my daughter still has because this age is rough especially for the parents. Luckily I think this is one I won’t have to clean up because as you know…I don’t mop!