Communication

Yesterday morning dh was trying to get dressed; I'd laid his clothes out on the bed as usual. I walked into the room and he was rummaging about -- clearly distraught and looking for something.
"Can I help?"
"I can't find, I can't find ... my ... dirty things."
"Huh?"
"You know! My dirty things."
I'm not sure how I figured this one out, but he was looking for his underwear and let me assure all of us that it was clean :)

The day before he got a bit upset with me because I was giving him way too many oranges. "I mean, I'm only supposed to eat ONE!" He held one slice of orange in his hand and emphasized his point with it. Of course, he was considering each slice of one small clementine an entire orange.
Language can be so sticky!

A new caregiver

This morning as I was trying to help Bob get his socks on, Mickey Mouse socks no less, his toenails were too long and I snagged one, hurt him, and he yelped like a bear in pain.
What annoys me at these times is that his reaction is always as if I intentionally hurt him. Then he needs long lectures (which I can NOT interrupt) to explain what happened, as if I didn't know.
Today in his annoyance with my complete withdrawal, he asked me totally calmly, "I don't want to hurt your feelings, but wouldn't you be happier if we found someone else to take care of me and you went on your way?"
Could we have bets on my reply? Actually, I asked him who he would suggest.
He's currently sitting there; I suspect he's considering an answer.
This isn't just for laughs.