The One Where Joshua Hates Restaurant Napkins

Joshua is a great kid. A great man. He is pretty much like most other people you meet on a daily basis...he just has Down Syndrome.

He has some weird things that he likes and weird things he doesn't like, just like you and I...it's just that sometimes the reasoning behind it makes no sense.

Take paper napkins from restaurants.

When we bring food home, like from Chick-Fil-A or Zaxby's or any place like that, they typically put their restaurant's paper napkins in the bag with your food. Joshua HATES them...like seriously hates them with a passion. He won't use them if we are at home. He will go and get one of OUR paper napkins and use it instead.

If it's left up to him, he will pitch them all in the trash.

In fact, just the other day, Jim said, "where are all of the napkins I had on the table?" I said, "what napkins are you talking about...do you need a napkin?" He said, "I had a stack of napkins that we got at Subway the other night, and I've been saving them on the table...to use when we eat."

He said, "Joshua, have you seen them?"

Joshua: (blank stare)

Jim, his voice a little louder: "Joshua, did you throw away my Subway napkins?"

Joshua: (blank stare)

Jim: "I HAVE BEEN SAVING THOSE NAPKINS, SON...DID YOU THROW THEM AWAY?"

Joshua: "I don't like them."

Jim: " THAT IS NO REASON TO THROW THEM AWAY. THAT IS WASTEFUL. I WAS GOING TO USE THEM."

Joshua: (crickets chirping)

Jim: "DO YOU UNDERSTAND WHAT I AM SAYING?"

Joshua: (blank stare)

Jim: "FOR FUTURE REFERENCE, DO NOT THROW AWAY ANY NAPKINS THAT I HAVE BEEN SAVING."

Joshua: (shrugs shoulders and keeps on eating)

And this whole time, I'm trying to keep from dying laughing, because...seriously? I see Jim's point, but let me cross-stitch this on a pillow for your bed: LOGIC WILL NOT WORK WITH JOSHUA.

And Logan says, "you know we have sunk to a new low when Dad starts hollering about napkins."

Joshua got his feelings hurt, because he wants more than anything to be just like Jim. He hates to disappoint him. And Jim probably should've let it go with the first comment and just asked Joshua to please not throw the napkins away...but he sometimes goes overboard because he is a Type A person and doesn't understand what goes through Joshua's mind. His favorite phrase, when Joshua and the other kids were younger, was, "What POSSESSED you to do that?" Joshua would just look at him.

We can't have Joshua throwing stuff away just because he doesn't like it.

So, Joshua quietly cleared his plate off the table and went upstairs...he did not ask for dessert or anything. I looked at Jim and said, "you hurt his feelings, and now you're in trouble." Jim said, "I know...he's probably calling my mother as we speak, telling her that I yelled at him." And I said, "yep...and the next time we meet up with her, I guarantee you she will have at least 10 packages of paper napkins for you!"

"But speaking the truth in love, let us grow in every way into Him who is the head—Christ." Ephesians 4:15