Understood

Last night London asked Justin for some milk. As usual, she said, “Milk?” He said, “You want some milk?” And she said, “Yes.” After he’d agreed to get the milk, she got his attention again and asked, “Ba?” This was a harder request to interpret, but Justin did well. He asked, “You want your milk in a bottle?”

London’s response was beautiful. She started laughing, evidently startled by Justin’s clear understanding of her request. She had communicated effectively, and she was giddy about it.

I think sometimes about how hard it must be for her, not being able to say everything she thinks. Every day she makes progress on that front, but the truth is her vocabulary probably won’t ever catch up to her thoughts. It hasn’t for me anyway. I’m always thinking things that I can’t put into words.

I see so much beauty in that moment I just described, that moment when you know you’ve been understood, when what you wanted to say and what you said are exactly the same. I crave those moments, especially in my writing, and I was thrilled to celebrate that moment with her.