I was reflecting this evening on how we, as parents, marvel and celebrate each milestone our child makes with his power of communication.
First, we celebrate at the sound of our infant’s very first cry. Later, we tell everyone with pride at our little blessing’s first spoken words. Then, we revel in our (most certainly) precocious little tot’s vocabulary and amazing mastery of speech. Eventually, we begin to mark other milestones with joy, but they slowly those milestones shift from spoken words to written words.
Today I’m celebrating a milestone with the spoken word. A while ago, after another ‘birds and bees’ conversation, I asked the boys if their friends ever talked about sex, kissing, or dating. Not surprisingly, the answer was no. Today, Alexander reminded me of that conversation, and told me that it had come up between himself and two friends. We had a nice conversation, which eventually included his brothers, and I clarified a few things and corrected a few misconceptions.
Hurray for open lines of communication! I can’t imagine yet what the next milestone is that I’ll be celebrating, but I’ll enjoy this one for now.
