Cooking,
cleaning and reciting the Cat in The Hat
from memory, I'm finishing up dinner and the phone begins to ring. Look at my
little one holding his book and stemming happily. I hate interruptions when the
mood is so peaceful. I turned to make a mad dash for the phone, rounded the
corner of the breakfast bar and banged my big toe into the bar stool. In a
moment of mind numbing pain I blurted out the “s” word and began hopping round
the room. A few minutes passed when I noticed that my son stopped stemming and
was looking at me with great wonder. Until that moment I had been very good
about keeping my potty mouth clean. But, it’s okay, my little guy begins to
giggle and all is forgotten. Little giggles always take the pain away.
A
few days later, we met with our new speech therapists. She was much nicer than
the previous therapist and seemed to be very passionate about working with
autistic kids. Our meeting went exceptionally well and Pooty was very excited
about his new therapist. After the meeting, we moved into the kitchen for snacks
and leisurely conversation. Pooty comes in and utters a word that
sounds a lot like milk. In my haste I turned to grab Pooty’s sippy cup and
clipped my finger on the cabinet door. Did I mention I can be a bit clumsy at
times? This time I managed to be mindful not to say the “s” word. Instead
I quietly said “shoot”. Of course, in true Pooty fashion, he tapped me on the
leg, looked up at me with that devilish little grin and said, in a very clear
voice, “No mama, shit…shit.” This was one of those classic moments when I
didn’t know if I should crawl into a hole and hide or jump for joy because my
child corrected me.
Have
I corrupted my child? Such a smart little boy, why would he choose to master
this word? Could it have been the entertaining element of my hopped around
after shouting the “s” word into the atmosphere? Who would have thought…all the
effort it took to get my son to utter any audible word and it comes down to only
a matter of seconds for him to master the “s” word.
Word
to the wise, my fellow patrons of parenthood…never take a child’s speech delay
for granted, or else you too may find your little one staring into the bathroom mirror,
practicing the “s” word…not to mention, with great emphasis on the “t”.
And so she kisses her child goodnight.
Thinking of all the fun things
planned,
Hoping and wondering if she can,
Prepare him for all of life’s
demands.
Sit up straight; don’t play with
your food,
Be a good boy, try never to be rude.
What have I done that I’ve taught
him this thing,
Hearing the “s” word and feeling the
sting.
Will he ever know how hard I try?
Always teaching and preaching to
reach for the sky.
I wish I’d never said that naughty
word.
Instead I will work harder to be,
The example my son needs to see.
I will be more selective with my
words,
To be sure they are thoughtful,
encouraging and good.
In the meantime I will pray,
That my wee one tries not to say,
The new word mommy taught him that
day.
And know that everything will be
okay.
