I Love His New Game
Wonderboy comes to me and delivers an incomprehensible message in whisper-sounds. I’m pretty sure he can’t even hear a whisper, but he can feel that it’s a different way of talking. Sometimes we are loud, "MOMMEEEE! WHERE GAY-GEE GO?" (The baby is on the move now, and Wonderboy finds her scoot-crawling mobility a bit stressful. Precious objects such as telephones and babies are supposed to stay where you put them. Aren’t they? Aren’t they? Where did she go? Doggone it, she’s halfway down the hall again, and I’m pretty sure she took the phone with her.)
Yes, sometimes we are loud, and sometimes we are hushed and whispery. He comes to me with his tight little grin and his proud whisper, and he pours forth a string of sotto voce gibberish, like my amateur actor friends and I used to do during party scenes in high-school plays.
His secret message thus transmitted, he giggles expectantly, eyes dancing. This is my cue: I whisper back, delivering my own incomprehensible message to ears that can’t detect these sounds even with technological assistance.
Suddenly he is all business, and he trots off down the hall to find Jane. That’s the game, see; he is carrying our messages from one end of the house to the other. I have no idea what she is saying on her end. I keep forgetting to ask her. It doesn’t really matter. We both know the substance of the message is joy.
Karen E. says:
Delightful.
Message received.
Joy delivered here today.
Thanks. š
On February 14, 2007 at 5:24 am
Jennifer says:
Little tears in my eyes – how precious!
On February 14, 2007 at 6:45 am
xixi says:
I love this entry. My best friend and I used to play a game called “letters” when we were 6 or so – on playdates (back before they were called playdates) we would sit at opposite ends of the house and write letters to each other and then deliver them. Our mothers thought we were insane – but you are right – there is something about the joy of the message that is universal.
On February 14, 2007 at 9:39 am
xixi says:
oh, i also wanted to say that I’m glad the message wasn’t “the bedroom is on fire, get help quickly!”
š
On February 14, 2007 at 9:41 am
KC says:
That’s too sweet.
On February 14, 2007 at 3:33 pm
Maria Ashwell says:
I can’t tell you the joy I feel every time I read your posts about Wonderboy. It feels like I’m overflowing.
On February 16, 2007 at 5:23 am