I never quite know what Jessie will do when we are in a group setting in public. If strangers in Walmart, etc. speak to her, sometimes she doesn't speak back, sometimes it seems rude when they are being kind and making conversation. On the other hand, she is not a respecter of privacy, she doesn't understand the "rules". We were at the doctor's office for about three hours. She was very well behaved, and certainly as patient as any 8 year old could be expected to be for that length of time. From the beginning of when we first got there, every time someone else's name was called, she would say (fairly loudly), "Call my name!". I would say, most every time, "We have to wait our turn, all these other people were here first." Jessie: "No!" Next person called, same scenario, for most of the 10-15 people that were called before us. She has complete understanding of the way that works, she just doesn't like waiting her turn (does anyone?). Also, she isn't able to look around and think, ok, 5 more then my turn. Every time she thinks it might be her turn and is disappointed when it isn't. She was thrilled when they actually called her name.
Jessie drew stick figures, labeled them with family members names, wrote some words, I helped her spell some. That got old. She got bored. I realized I had dropped my phone in the car and stepped out to get it...BEFORE I GOT OUT THE DOOR, she started working the room. I saw it as soon as I stepped out, through the glass. She had a pretend Princess camera and went around the room taking everyone's picture. She did this two or three times, then waited a while till more people had come in, that hadn't been there the first round, then she had to do it all again. I am always unsure at first how people are going to react to such as that, but everyone seemed to think it was cute, most were smiling and some really got tickled with her. One lady (an acquaintance of mine) said, "She has a way of making sick people feel better."
We drew and wrote some more, she texted her Daddy and sister. There was an older gentleman sitting beside her. After she'd been texting, she pointed at him and said she wanted to text him. She knows how to go to text messaging in my phone, knows to put in the first couple letters of the name she wants, then selects the correct name and texts them. She kept saying, "I want to find his name", pointing to the nice man we'd been talking to a little. He was sitting there with his phone out and had texted someone while we were sitting there. Finally, she wasn't going to give up, so I said, "She wants to text you." He gave me a business card with his phone number on it (turns out he was a pastor :)) and I put the number in for her. She texted back and forth with him several times. He took a picture of her with his phone and sent it to her. She sent him a picture of her that was saved in my phone. Only Jessie.
Sometimes, right off the bat I am a little anxious when we get in that kind of setting, knowing she is going to get in everybody's business. Some days it is annoying that she doesn't respect the normal boundaries of strangers. Other days, like today, I can enjoy that difference.
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