Alien Invasion

“I think my husband's brain has been taken over by aliens.” So starts a message from a fellow Aspie spouse. I immediately laughed. Out loud. I’m still chuckling.

Single mindedness. Rigidity. Strong literal-mindedness. Call it whatever you want, but it can be a royal pain in the patootie.

Our favorite Aspies often latch on to an idea of some sort and begin to obsess about ‘it’. They think about ‘it’ day and night to the point that they are convinced ‘it’ is already true or will become true. You try to dissuade them from believing ‘it’, but they don’t listen.

Sometimes talking the subject through with your Aspie can help. Get them to write out what they are worried or obsessing about, then do some brain storming to work through to a positive solution can help.

My hubby likes to see things in print. If I can come up with books, or articles from the internet that I’ve printed out, he can read them over and over until he understands. I often ask him to read out loud while I’m busy doing something else and we can discuss the subject.

Since my blog 'In Hot Water' Steve has suddenly stopped using water to shower. He turns the shower on long enough to get damp. He shampoos and lathers, then turns a dribble of water on to sort-of rinse off the soap. He insists the towel will get the rest.

The hilarious thing about his new hot water saving routine is that he spends five to ten minutes at his sink with the hot water running full tilt while he washes his face. Ten minutes to wash his face. He wears a full beard. He is only washing the unbearded parts. Granted, his forehead area is a little bigger than it was twenty years ago.

A friend once commented on his own growing baldness. “God must love my face – He’s clearing a spot on top for another one!”

I’ve been trying to explain to my Sweetie that running the hot water in the sink is no different than running the hot water in the shower. We have flow restrictors in the shower heads to be more energy efficient, but Steve just isn’t getting it.

I am going to set a timer for ten minutes tomorrow morning. Normally, on his own, my hubby will shower twenty to thirty minutes. If he washes his face AND hair AND body in the ten minutes that he is currently using at the sink, we should be fine.

Now, all I have to do is find an article to back up my suggestion with.

Or maybe I can ask the aliens for his brain back…