September 15, 2005 - Thursday
Last night as I was leaving his room at bedtime, Harry said he needed a drink of water. He's done that before and I've usually taken it to be a tactic for delaying bedtime. Of course, tonight we did go to McDonalds for dinner and he ate a lot of salty french fries and so actually being thirsty was quite possible. But, too, Harry had just had a drink of water moments earlier in the bathroom.

"You just had a drink, Harry. Do you really need another drink or are you just fooling around again?"
"I do need a drink. My body is telling me that it needs a drink."
"Well, OK Harry, you're responsible enough to know whether you need a drink and if you need one you can get up and go get one."
I shut the door and that was the end of it.

Harry said the same thing tonight, although tonight's dinner was far less salty. I said much the same think and waited a moment for Harry to get up. He did not and I closed the door and what to the bathroom. When I came out, there was Harry bashfully standing in the hall, perhaps having stopped there when he heard me coming.
"I need a drink," he said shyly.
"OK, Harry, go ahead." I followed him to the bathroom and added, "I suggest you don't have a very big drink, because then you might have to get up and pee in the middle of the night."
"I know. I measure it," he said, referring to some horizontal lines on the cup that he has noted previously as measuring lines.
"OK, turn of the light when you go back to bed." And I left and went down the hall to my computer. I half expected him to come peering in, but he did not. He quietly went back to his room and shut the door. I like to think that he was aware that I was trusting him. He did the right thing.


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