September 25, 2004
All I want is credit where credit is due
In the past two days I have come to suspect that my son, who is 15 months old and has spoken nary an intelligible word, save one, is finally clueing in that "dada" is not just a spiffy, all-purpose sound to make. It seems that he is making the connection that "dada" is the name of the big guy who is always hanging around here and who has pointed at himself while saying "dada" approximately 327,000 times in the past year.As much as I should know better, I got excited. I thought, "Hey, a language explosion! Surely he is now ready to acknowledge that I, too, have a name. It is time to give credit where credit is due!" This, of course, was shattered all to hell when Robert pointed at me and asked, "Who's that?" to which John Zachary replied, with a proud grin, "Dada!"
Now, I don't feel that I'm asking too much in wanting to be called by name, here. I was totally okay when Madalyn gave me third billing, coming in behind not only "dada" but "kitty" as well. She has always liked Robert better. I'm sure the La Leche League would tell me it's because I forcibly weaned her at 6 months. Whatever. I was cool with it.
But now, this other child, the child who screams bloody freakin' murder if I dare to walk out of the room, the one who is attached to either my hip or my leg for at least 12 hours a day, the very same child who wouldn't even have anything to with Robert for the first 6 months of his life, is all, "Dada!" I mean, really, where did I go wrong? And I know the little twit is physically capable of making the "m" sound because I've only heard him do it about a hundred times before.
All I want is some credit. You rent somebody prime real estate in your uterus for 9 months and then turn yourself into his own personal dairy cow for an entire year after that, and this is the thanks you get?
Aww, who am I kidding. How could you be mad at this face?
Now that is a squee-worthy munchkin if I ever saw one. It's alright, mommy's widdle buddy! You just take as much time as you need!
