Listen
I can’t quite put my finger on it.
“Every day, in a 100 small ways, our children ask, ‘Do you hear me? Do you see me? Do I matter?’ Their behavior often reflects our response. ”
I do not remember that one defining moment. I do know that it’s felt a lot like we woke up one morning and he had this expansive vocabulary and I was incredibly perplexed. It felt like I had just given birth to the kid a couple of days ago. What is all of this talking? “No.”
Did he just tell me no?
“Nooooo,” again. This time it was a little bit louder. I thought he really did not know what he was saying. Maybe he was just amazed at how he could formulate his little lips and get his voice to comply.
“Boy, come on. Stop playing.” This time, it was incredibly pronounced and definitive. “NOOOOO!” His lips formed in the shape of an “oh” and he drew his arms back, communicating how serious he was.
WHAT?! I really thought I had to be out of my mind. I could not understand how he could understand what he was actually saying and doing. If this wasn’t confirmation enough that I had a toddler, he’d further confirm in his being day by day. The further confirmation manifested in the way that he would request what he wanted by running over to the refrigerator and practically hanging onto the handle “aah,” he’ll utter.
“Is it that you want milk?”
“Yah,” he’ll respond while nodding his head up and down several times. It doesn’t matter how many times he does it, I’m still in awe of him. Did he really just tell me yes ...and understand what it is that he’s communicating?
I’ll hand him a bottle of water and he’ll ask for me to open it “oh.” Where is he getting this from?
He’ll get really sweet if I’m not moving fast enough “cheeee.“ That’s “please“ in Baby Nas talk. He knows it’ll get me to do whatever he asks in half the time. Oh but the kicker is when he gets really passionate about whatever it is he is moved to discuss in depth. His hands rise and his fingers spread. His shoulders also rise to, almost, meet his ears and the pitch of his voice will get a little higher. “”At dat at at thhhthhh!” His hands are doing an in and out motion and I really wish that I could understand what he is trying to say. I want to communicate effectively with my one year old but he is so far gone and so convinced that he is producing real words that I just go with the flow. I just respond in an “oh really” and “tell me more.” Although I’m not quite prepared for him to tell me more, I let him continue until I can no longer take it and erupt in laughter. The conversation ultimately ends in us laughing together, yet, I still remain in a state of pure confusion. I just didn’t think that all of this talking would happen so soon. In spite of time moving so quickly and me struggling to keep up with my baby, I want to always be present for his ramblings. As they grow with him, I want him to always be assured that his mom will always lend her ear to listen.
