Love is in the air

For those of you just joining our story...Paul is my nephew. He is 22 years old and he is "slightly mentally retarded with autistic tendencies compounded with extreme ADHD". He functions on the mental level of an 8 year old. Our family wants him to have as normal as a life as possible which is hard when the 8 year old is trapped in a 6 foot tall, 200 pound body. Thank God there are programs in these United States that help people in similar situations as Paul to experience as much as they can. His current group is called "Project Team". They teach handicapped teenagers and young adults to become responsible members of society by learning job skills and social skills. Paul can't wait to wake up every morning so he can catch the bus and go to work. The students get to work in different settings at different places. I think I've mentioned Paul's love for washing dishes at Riverside City College because he gets to use the huge kitchen hose that hangs from the ceiling over the big sink. But it doesn't matter where he works...he loves having a place to go and he really loves getting his pay check. He makes sub minimum wage but to him it's all the money in the world.

"Project Team" is also involved in the Special Olympics. Today they played soccer, but apparently that wasn't the only game going on.....


The handsome Mr. Paul is in a love triangle....


Here he is at the Special Olympics soccer game today.

This is ex-girl friend Erica, she dumped Paul for Andy, who had a truck:



This little filly is Jessica, who is supposedly Paul's current girlfriend:



Paul's teacher told my sister, Tori, (Paul's mom),that Erica and Jessica got into a shoving match over Paul at the workshop last week! Apparently Erica now wants Paul back because she doesn't want Jessica to have him! Erica made sure to give Tori her phone number today so Paul could take her out to dinner next week. Notice that it's Erica who has her arm around Mr. Paul.


Paul just wants to play soccer with his team!

Notice Erica is coming in for the kill...

No ball will get past this fort Knox security demonstrated by *Pele Pendell!
(*google famous soccer player "Pele" if you don't know to whom I am referring.)



Project Team scores and goes undefeated for the day!


I hope Paul is as lucky in love as he is on the soccer field.