I'm in my cafe. It's mine because it's only 20 seconds of walking from my door to the cafe's. I'm here to write and these two ladies are here as well. They are chatting. A lot. One is very loud and adept at using her body to convey her thoughts with wildly exaggerated gestures. The other is not as loud but just as skilled at talking very quickly. At many points they are talking at the same time and it seems impossible one can understand the other's point of view while simultaneously yapping.
I know who these ladies are. I know because I am now one of them.
This skill of rapid fire speech is honed in settings like playgroups, playgrounds, birthday parties, dinners out...etc. Rapid fire speaking is a talent that having young children around you will improve greatly. You want so desperately to engage with another human being who doesn't require you to change his dirty diapers and read "Pat The Bunny" twenty times in a row. So when you're faced with the opportunity to engage another adult you do it and you do it quickly. That's the only way you'll get all your thoughts, feelings and neurosis out in the alloted time. Then you can plow through another twenty reads of "Pat The Bunny" feeling heard yourself.
Well now one of the ladies has answered her phone and appears to be talking with someone about speech therapy. Loud Lady is the expert it seems. "Have you tried keeping the statements to two words only? You gotta keep it simple and easy for him to follow and mimic." Hmmm, you know The Boy is not really speaking any words yet...I'm wondering if I should jump in on this caffeine-infused and time-crunched conversation they're having and get some free guidance. Like I said, I'm now fluent in their language.
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