Some assumptions are for his benefit. For example, I assume that Moe is smart and capable of learning. So even though he may not give many indications that he can count, I still count with him. I have to assume this, because if I assumed Moe couldn't learn, then the only logical response would be to stop teaching him. And that is not going to happen. (Actually, I'm pretty sure Moe has a brain-vault full of information and when he is ready and able to share with us what he knows, we'll be quite amazed.)
I find I also make assumptions about what Moe has opinions about. I assume, for example, that he doesn't care about the clothes I dress him in each day. I assume that because doesn't complain about the choices I've made. I've tried giving Moe the choice between two shirts or two pairs of pajamas and he's never shown much preference. But Moe has always had a difficult time making choices, so maybe I've made an incorrect assumption as to why he's not making showing a preference.
I kept Moe home from school today, for the second day, because he has a cold. This morning, he fought me as I tried to get him dressed, wouldn't let me put on his shoes, and since his nose was still running, I decided to let him stay home. A few minutes after Jeff left for work, Moe seemed just fine. I assumed that Moe wasn't feeling well when I first woke him up, but started to feel better after a little while. But maybe he was relieved that he would be able to stay home. Or, though it's highly unlikely, maybe he pulled one over on me.
So Moe seemed okay, and I had to get out of the house for a couple hours this morning. So I put the kids in the car and went to the mall to walk around for a bit. I noticed recently that Moe's shoes were getting a little small on him, so we went into Stride Rite, the one store that always carries shoes for his extra wide feet. Although Moe freaked out when we tried to measure his feet - it turns out he has grown over a full size since I bought his last pair!
So I picked out two pairs to replace the two currently in rotation. The first pair was brown, and they ran a bit small. We tried a half size up and those fit well. Moe didn't seem to care what we were putting on him. He wasn't oblivious to what was happening, and is generally quite aware of his surroundings, but didn't seem to be paying much attention to the shoes themselves. Then the salesperson pulled out the blue sneakers I chose and Moe smiled and started to clap. We hadn't even put them on yet, and I can't be sure why he was clapping, but he sure seemed genuinely excited about the shoes.
Moe wore them out of the store.
