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September 14, 2007
the power of language... or lack thereof
We're a wordy bunch these days. Complex sentences spill from Gustav's mouth, as if someone suddenly uploaded the advanced thought disk into his hard drive. He now has a wonderful ability to talk about abstract issues, such as feelings and how our words can impact others, how do babies come out (argh!), and where the heck does YOUR pee pee come from, Mama (oh god, now I have to be anatomically correct?).
He has the memory of his father, with the uncanny ability to remember the smallest of details, even a year out. At our block party last weekend, half-way through the day Gus asks, 'Where are the water balloons?" There had been no mention of it from us, but he had remembered, from when he was 2 1/2, that there were water balloons. Perhaps he was scarred by the event of a water balloon bursting all over his then-baby brother's head.
He also is keenly interested in the stories we tell, wanting to hear about our days more than wanting to tell us of his. These do not need to be fantastical stories... the more mundane, the better. I literally recount my steps, and he stores every word as data. If I mention a co-worker one day, he will remember their name several days later. These are not people he know in flesh, but only in the world of his mind. I went to a gathering of other local folks who do the same kind of work I do on Wednesday night. Gus waited for me to get home, and I told him about who I was with, one of them being Frank. Then last night, I told him I had a meeting with some people at work, and he said, "With Frank?" I was so surprised, I had only mentioned Frank to Gus the one time. Then suddenly he asks, "Is he the same Frank at Papa's school?" Oh, he was remembering John's teacher he briefly met THREE WEEKS ago. I said, "No, but wow, Gus, you remember things like your Papa."
"Yeah," he said nonchalantly. "I remember his yellow shirt, too."
Showoff.
Posted by janna at September 14, 2007 06:32 AM