Living at home affords a few advantages one would not immediately think of. My parents have gone without me to the Mensa Halloween party while I was at Purdue. This was the first time I've attended since 2011.
There's a man, whose name I believe is David, who always attends. I don't know his story or what his connection is to Mensa, but he is developmentally or socially challenged. It's difficult to understand and talk with him, but he's quite friendly in his rough way. In the past, my conversations with him have been awkward and unproductive. Consequently, I try to avoid them, and have always felt bad about that, especially because he's very good at remembering names. Tonight, when he notice me, he waved and shouted to me, and I immediately waved and said hi back.
I suppose I should feel a stronger connection to him, because my social skills aren't very good, either. Usually, my reaction is delayed and often inappropriate. Many situations overwhelm me until a flow is established, and that's just what happened when our host first greeted us. It wasn't until afterwards that I realized how automatically and correctly I responded to David.
It's progress. And progress feels good.
