Piggy Nightmare

  The other night, DAD came home, giddy with excitement, because he stopped at B&N and bought Elephant and Piggy dolls for the boys (these are characters from a children storybook series).  They were supposed to be stocking stuffers but then SMILE had a bit of a breakdown at story time.
   "Go get the dolls," I mouthed over SMILE's head as I tried to soothe him.  Quick as a flash, DAD propelled himself off the bed, through the door, and into our secret Christmas gift hiding place. Smiling ear to ear, DAD quoted a line from one of the books ("It is...a reader!") and produced the dolls with a grand "ta-dah!"
    WINK yelped with delight and SMILE shrieked...with horror! DAD deflated.  We looked at each other, wide eyed and slack-jawed, while our little SMILE sobbed and yelled, "I don't want it!  That's not right," over and over.  I kissed his head and smoothed his hair. We took the doll away.  DAD tried to redirect Smile's attention by giving him his favorite Elephant and Piggy book to read.  As he quieted, I made the connection. 
    "SMILE? Is Piggy supposed to be in the book?"
    That was it.  I smirked at DAD and flopped down back on my pillow while SMILE read his book, his lyrical voice losing all trace of anxiety as he turned the pages.  By the time he closed the book, he was ready to hold his new toy.  He even slept with it tucked under his arm close to his chest.
   So, what happened?  My guess is that SMILE had become upset when DAD and I changed his routine slightly (it was getting late) and, once upset, couldn't reset his brain when he saw something that should have made him happy.  Furthermore, obvious lines between real and make believe/ serious or playing are blurred for him.  It's not that he doesn't know the difference.  It's just that, sometimes, he needs a minute to remember that he does. I guess that he really thought Piggy was in the wrong place and was only assuaged when he read the book and saw that Piggy was safe and sound. 
    Sometimes SMILE'S wires get a little crossed and I'm reminded why the symbol for Autism is a puzzle piece.