Spoke with middle child last evening. A large part of the conversation revolved around his asking me why he should say Hi back when his coworkers say hi to him each morning. I tried to explain common courtesy, I tried explaining giving to others and acknowledging the presence of others, and all I got back was it was just annoying to him to have to say hello every day and then asking again why did he have to respond every day and how did it benefit him? Then he says that when he tries to talk to them beyond a hello, they don't want to talk to him. When I asked him to elaborate, well, they don't say they don't want to talk but "I can tell they don't want to talk to me." My own past traumatic experiences with him have taught me that his intuition is way off the mark on others' intentions. I don't know. He seemed normal as a child, maybe overly sensitive, but how did he get to this point where he is definitely on the autism spectrum but it didn't reveal itself until adulthood? I mean, how could every teacher not notice or mention it? He acknowledges that working from home without any other human contact was not good for him. But it started way before then, when he went away to college and ended up living alone. That's when things really started going downhill. And then Liberia. A stranger returned from that endeavor. I've tried encouraging him to seek counseling to assist him with life skills for many years, but it is rejected every time. ​He's alienated his siblings and doesn't want anything to do with them. His wife (that I didn't know he had) divorced him. You'd think he would get the hint that maybe it is him that needs help, but apparently not. These phone calls, while infrequent, are extremely upsetting and stressful for me. But I am always hopeful that this time will be different, but end up with a lot of worry. I didn't sleep well obviously.

Anyway. He is going through the process of obtaining Austrian citizenship since he is a descendant of a Holocaust survivor from his paternal grandmother's side of the family. I encouraged all my children to pursue it for themselves and their children, just in case things go to hell here in the states of america. I wouldn't be surprised if middle ups and moves to Europe someday.

And he told me he did a 23 and Me test in hopes of learning his paternal grandfather's ancestry. Grandfather never knew who his birth father was. The one thing from the results that was different from my sister's result (other than the quarter Jewish) was France. Grandfather had olive skin and dark hair, so I thought he had some Mediterranean blood in him. It's all a mystery. Everything is a mystery.

It continues to be chilly in the morning, 40F. I had to pull out my long underwear again yesterday! It is still too cool out for me to ride my bike after work.

Despite the rain on Monday, the Roundup on the new garden site seems to be working. And something (deer?) pulled the chicken wire off the sedum, put the wire in the grass, and had a feast. I feel like the sitcom mother "Can't I have anything nice around here??"