Conversations

The other day I was talking to Rachel. Or, rather, she came up to talk to me.

"What you gonna make?" she asked. It's her way of asking what the next meal is going to be and, though sporadic during the day, always shows up around bedtime. This happened to be near bedtime.

"I don't know. Probably oatmeal."

"No, Mom," she replied calmly. "No oatmeal."

"Hon--"

"I hate oatmeal. How about muffins?"

A little surprised since this is the first time she's offered an alternative, I say, "I don't have any wheat sprouted yet for muffins, so we can't have them tomorrow. But we will have them sometime this week, okay?"

"Muffins?" she asked, very happy and somewhat surprised as well.

"Sometime this week," I say. "But not for tomorrow's breakfast."

"Okay, mom. Well, I going to bed now."

I blink a couple of times and mentally start analyzing the conversation. She was very engaged, very attentive, eye contact was excellent, there was about four loops in that conversation (depending on how you count it), and, most importantly, she initiated making a deal. Up to now she's only accepted them.

It was the longest, true conversation we've ever had. And I'm thrilled!

***

This one was told to me by my husband. It seems that he found one of the puzzle pieces from the Valentine's day puzzles I had bought the girls on the floor. He picked it up and, since Sarah happened to be nearby, asked, "Is this yours?"

She said, "No. That's [insert sister's name]. I'll take it to her."

And she took it from my husband's hand, found her sister and gave it to her. Once again, involved, attentive, good eye contact.

***

They keep growing more and more each day. :)