by Kathy Luder
The Mind of Christ H I G H E R T H I N G S __ 16
M
y cousin Matthew stayed with us for a long weekend this past January. My mom said that his parents needed a break. I think they were on the verge of divorce. She didn’t say that but she didn’t have to. I could tell by the shape of her mouth.
Matthew is two years older than I am, the same age as my brother John. But he never got along very well with John. When we were little he preferred dolls to football. He doesn’t like to be touched. And he doesn’t like anything yellow or brown. He is afraid of choking and won’t put anything into his mouth that is bigger than a nickel. He won’t drink out of a plastic cup and won’t use the bathroom if anyone else is on the same floor. He always has to sit in the same chair and at the same place at the table. He is what my grandmother calls "difficult" and kids at school call a "spaz.” But Matthew is also very smart. He can rattle off the capitals of all the states and their populations, not just of the US, but also of Mexico and Canada. He can multiply and divide huge numbers in his head almost as fast as a calculator. And he seems to know more about the Lord of the Rings than Tolkien himself. Matthew is autistic. My mom didn’t say he is part of the stress in my aunt and uncle’s marriage, but she didn’t have to. I knew it from years of watching.
