Mother tongue

Being a mother has its own lexicon, a special language between me and Edie and June that has become second nature. Handful is transformed into handpile, tomorrow is "after this nap"; it's snowdy, not snowy, outside, and snowflakes are snow flags. I navigate the world differently as a result, loving these pet phrases, cherishing the humor in the girls' perfect mistakes. I miss when they move on--I'll never forget when Edie stopped saying "hold you" for "hold me." I try not to lose sight of this intimate way of communicating the more they adopt the "correct" wording.