Then why is it that I look down at this tiny little human
and wonder if I am really going to do it right? If I am really ready for this
new adventure that lies ahead. I am not sure if I can learn baby feeding cues,
followed by crying, toddler half talk, and whatever passes for language by the
time he is a teenager. I am not sure that our cultures match since he thinks
peeing on me is perfectly acceptable when all I am trying to do is help. Who
knows what our different cultures will look like when I am half a century old
and he only a quarter century. And what combination of language, words,
actions, listening, silent and verbal affirmation and discipline will I have to
learn to be an expert communicator in perhaps the biggest call that Liz and I
will ever have.
And culture shock…I think I was more at home with a four
year old who doesn’t speak English than I am with an infant that doesn’t say
anything other than AAAAAAAA (breath…is he done?) AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA. Which by the way I am finding out can mean “I
am hungry. I am cold. I am hot. I am dirty. I am tired. I have gas.” Or simply “I
don’t want you to sleep, I want you to stay up and look at me.” And those are
just the ones I am currently working on translating into a workable language.