TMI Tuesday: Baby Babble And Toddler Talk

Over the last month our son has been stringing together words faster than we can really keep track. In between those clear and unclear words is usually a string of babble that is definitely supposed to mean something but that we are unable to understand. It is at this point when our son can get frustrated when we don’t hand him the right thing or react the way that he expects. This is usually when he becomes more insistent with both his babble and his gestures as if to ask “Why don’t you understand what I’m saying?”

However, there are the moments when we are able to put together the “words” and gestures offering our son the responses that he expects. Not only is it a nearly indescribable feeling knowing that we are able to communicate but we can tell by his reaction that he is both relieved and excited that we are understanding what he is saying. It is really cute how proud and happy that he gets when we have our brief conversations.

It is amazing to think about how much has changed in this regard as it was only a few weeks ago when his limited vocabulary prevented us from putting the pieces together. Now, with a constantly expanding collection of words, it is becoming easier and easier to understand what he is trying to say. It is actually quite interesting as we have to be careful with what we say because you never know what word will take hold in his ears and play back when we least expect it. This has almost gotten us into trouble a few times.

While he is slowly picking up words and figuring out how to pronounce them, the amazing part of this whole thing is that he comprehends much more than he can currently convey. This has been the case for months as he always seems to understand what we are saying and what is being said around him in general. Now he is picking things up and repeating them with more and more confidence and clarity… this week is a world away from last week and last week was a completely different dimension from the week prior.  

I am curious to hear how things progress but one thing is for sure, he enjoys talking, he enjoys babbling, but, most importantly, he likes being heard and understood. Slowly but surely we are communicating more concisely and we are both doing so with huge smiles on our faces. A smile that seems to say “thank you for understanding me daddy. I’ve been wanting to talk to you for a long time.” Me too my baby boy, me too.

TMI Tuesday: I Can’t Poop!

 

There are many different cries and screams that we have learned to decipher over the past year and a half. Granted, my wife is much better as interpreting them but there are a few that I have been able to pick up over time. One of them has a certain decibel and cadence that simply translates to “I can’t poop and I am not happy about it!” Unfortunately, we tend to know that this one is going to happen when he goes nearly an entire day without a red faced movement.

This is also one of those screams that can really happen at any time, day or night. And it doesn’t matter where we are at the time either as we have experienced his vocal cords piercing our ears while in bed, at the dinner table, in the playroom, while out to dinner, with family, and in the car. It is an equal opportunity scream that definitely gets your attention. Keep in mind that all of this is in despite of him regularly eating a healthy amount of movement inducing foods.

When we hear it we know that he is uncomfortable and, if at night, he is going to have trouble sleeping. And, given the backup that it represents, we try to keep his situation in mind when he doesn’t eat as much or doesn’t scurry around the house at the rate or regularity that he normally does. What’s worse, is that this particular siren becomes more pronounced when he doesn’t get the results he is looking for after the latest colonic pilates session.

During some of these more intense blockages, he even produces what can best be described as golf balls in between complete expulsions. Try sitting on a golf ball or small rock while at your desk and see how that feels. It is a sensation that doesn’t offer any relief. On the contrary, it makes him even grumpier and I can’t really blame him for the reaction.

However, when all is said and done and the increased fiber intake overtakes the barrier, the sense of relief that washes over his face is quite the site to see. Of course, there is a hint of fear in his eyes as well as he knows that the odds of a blowout are rather high in this situation. But, when all is said and done, it is nice to have our cheeky little baby boy back to his normal self. At least until the next time.

Questioning Punctuation And Interpretations

It happens all the time. You write an email, letter, or even some sort of business document and think that everything is done but when you look it over again you realize that you missed something. Nothing that impacts the content as all of the information is there but there is a single seemingly insignificant dot or subtle line that has been either added or not included that completely changes how it is read. Sometimes the most brilliant piece of writing can be derailed by punctuation. This is the exact point (no pun intended) that is currently being debated as either a period is missing or has been added to one of this county’s founding documents, The Declaration of Independence. The full research paper can be read here.

An opinion that I have seen bandied about since the release of this research leaves one with a weighty sense of suspicion as there are rarely moments of coincidence when it comes to politics and that is exactly what we find ourselves looking at in this particular instance. Basically, what this individual surmises, without the period, is that this cornerstone document grants increased power to the government over the people and their rights. In an era when the central figures in Washington are leveraging ever mode and means to secure more and more power, the motivations behind such a ‘revelation’ are suspect at a minimum and at worst liberal propaganda. Many critics of the research are leaning toward the latter as the supposition made by this scholar completely flies in the face of both what we fought against to gain our independence and what the founding fathers have expounded upon in their own writings. Sometimes there is no error in the faded pages of time, occasionally there is an error in the records kept, sometimes a period is nothing more than an un-cleaned spec on a pair of glasses.

However, there is another side to this whole argument which it the one to which I subscribe. Given that there seems to be rather convincing evidence that the period that we have all generally accepted in the transcript is indeed an error, the continuation of the thought outlined in the paragraph is what we must focus on. While some, on both sides of the political spectrum, have concluded that the absence of the period grants additional power to the government. However, I believe this is an overreaching statement made in error. The rights of the people are still the central focus and the role of government is to ensure that the rights of the people are not infringed. Basically, it is a reinforcement of the rights of the people and that the primary role of government is to protect those rights NOT restrict, limit, or strip them away.

There are too many possibilities that could be the culprit to this punctuation error theory that are too quickly glossed over and the intentions of the words and the spirit of the declaration is completely dismissed in the hypothesis. Brave actions and the intentions behind them are what secured our freedom from an oppressive and negligent government and there is no possible reason for the founders of this country to dismiss those sacrifices in order to empower the few over the many in determining rights. While I don’t anticipate that fact to resonate with the current administration, it is a large part of what has proven to be the catalyst in the success of this democratic republic and government should support the rights of the people to ensure that the tree of liberty remains healthy and vibrant.

We are a nation of individuals endowed with inalienable rights along with rights that ensure our freedom and liberty even under the rule of an oppressive government. While many may not exercise those rights or even take the time to fully understand them, they are there for our safety and for us to protect ourselves and protect us from being ruled rather than served. We were not founded on the notion of an expansive government, we were founded on the necessity of a strong people to oppose an overreaching government. The government needs to focus on protecting our rights so that we can protect ourselves. And while we will most likely never return to those ideals, it is our duty to find balance in this country and to protect ourselves from views and interpretations that fly in the face of our individual rights, liberty, and freedom.     

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness."

A Little Bit Of Passover Reading

Passover is a time when we reflect on the Exodus from Egypt and the struggle for freedom that has colored our character and influenced our faith and world view. However, when thinking about this, I can’t help but feel that the struggle has been forgotten and is only considered a part of our tradition, a story that does not go beyond the pages of the Torah. When reading Exodus, I came across the following sentence that made me stop and really put some long thought in the meaning behind the words:

“If, while breaking in, the thief is discovered, and he is struck and dies, [it is as if] he has no blood.” – Exodus 22:1

I read this as meaning that G-d will defend the actions of man when that man is just in his actions. Not satisfied with my own view, I went digging a little further I looked into the interpretation found in the Talmud. Rashi, considered the greatest commentator on the Tanach (for those of you unfamiliar with the term is the original, Jewish name for the 24 books of the Bible) considered the millennia of interpretation and produced the following commentary:

"He has no blood. [This signifies that] this is not [considered] murder. It is as though he [the thief] is [considered] dead from the start. Here the Torah teaches you: If someone comes to kill you, kill him first. And this one [the thief] has come to kill you, because he knows that a person will not hold himself back and remain silent when he sees people taking his money. Therefore, he [the thief] has come with the acknowledgement that if the owner of the property were to stand up against him, he [thief] would kill him [the owner]. - Talmud Sanhedrin. 72a"

The reason for expounding upon this sentence is quite simple. The Pharaoh, while not in the literal sense as the aforementioned thief, was depriving the Israelites of life. By keeping them enslaved and reliant upon him to provide them with their basic needs, he was stripping them of their freedom and leaving them, for the most part, powerless. It was not until they found the strength in G-d and from G-d to fight this tyrant that they were able to break their chains and become, once again, a free people.

While G-d clearly lent a hand in this endeavor, we must not forget that we are to be a reliant people granted with the innate ability to defend and protect ourselves as well as our fellow man. For when men strip us of our ability to stand up and fight for ourselves, do we once again find ourselves as helpless as a slave in Egypt. We have a responsibility to ourselves and to G-d to never again allow that to happen and so we must embrace our inalienable right to keep and bear arms.

We cannot become overly reliant on a government promising to provide us with our basic needs. We must be self-reliant and ready to work for what we want, fight for what we need, and defend the freedom that we have. In the end, while G-d undoubtedly lent a hand, the exodus required the actions of man. Moses was the one who led his people out of Egypt. Passover is a time to embrace the fact that we can still hold fast to our faith while at the same time fighting for our rights, our freedom, and our life.