Those social skills are haaard! We went to the post office today, so Daniel could mail some pictures to his grandmother. I handed him the envelope and the money and stood behind him. The guy behind the counter was quick on the uptake, and understood the situation within a few seconds. I coached Daniel through, but had to redirect him a few times because the little kids were with us and they were playing with the swinging door on the trash can.

I think the post office employee was really happy to be helping Daniel along. He looked at Daniel the entire time, paying only the barest attention to my prompting Daniel. As we were leaving, he grinned at me.

That's when I made my big mistake.

I said, "Thanks!"

I am not allowed to say, "Thanks!"

There was a minor uproar. At least it wasn't a really big one.

It took a while, but we are back on track. Daniel is cooking noodles for his lunch. Even though he was really hungry, he couldn't focus on that task for the longest time.

It's amazing what a difference a single word makes. Sigh.