Let's Talk

“The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place.” -George Bernard Shaw

Maeve and I are beginning to understand one another, at long last.  After a year of total misunderstanding and frustration on both of our parts, I am beginning to speak her language, and she is beginning to speak mine.

A considerable amount of communicating goes on between us based on where she is standing.  If she is standing by the baby gate in the kitchen, she wants a snack; if she is standing by her high chair, she is ready for a meal.  If she puts her head down on the chair in her bedroom where I give her the pre-nap bottle, she's ready for a nap.  If she's standing in front of the door to our apartment, she wants to go outside, or she misses Daddy.

She also uses word fragments or letter noises for words that she hasn't mastered yet: bubbles are "b-b-b", help is "p".  I continue saying the whole word to her in hopes she'll get the hang of it, and I know she will eventually, but it can be hard to wait until she knows more words.

But there are things she says, and hand gestures she uses, which just don't mean anything to me.  I try to remember that she must feel that way very often with me, and the frustration goes both ways.  I love listening to her babble, but I feel bad when she's emphatically gesturing to me and saying something, and it's clear she wants to communicate, but Mom is too thick to get it.

So many people have told me, "Just wait, you'll wish she never learned to talk once she really gets going" but I just can't imagine feeling that way.  Kids asking "why" has never bothered me, I like giving answers or looking things up.  And I really want to know more about what goes on inside that little noggin of hers.

Like, what's the deal with stretching your Elmo sock?