A very wise woman once told me:
"With children, the days may be long, but the years are short."
Very true. Although there are 30-minute time slots in my days that seem like an eternity, the big picture is moving quickly. The life of a small child is a snapshot in time. I always say that I am a woman and a mom "in-progress" and I have both brilliant mom-moments and disastrous ones.
This week, though, I stopped rushing and shushing long enough to realize that I need to write down the precious mispronunciations of my two-year-old daughter. Before I know it, she'll say the words correctly and I'll not have enjoyed the tenderness. So, in the spirit of appreciating the small things, here are the three greatest words at our house, right now.
1. "Sket-el-ens." Say it out loud. It's that time of year, you know. It's Halloween and the skeletons are showing up everywhere. We are guaranteed to hear this treat of a word, every night, as our daughter has pink pajamas decorated with glow-in-the-dark skeleton bones. "Please, mom, I wear my sketelen jammies tonight?" How can I refuse?
2. "Chick-a-fay." A favorite of most two-year-olds, even if some moms won't admit to fast-food indulgences. Chick-Fil-A now has a much more endearing pronunciation in our family and it is yelled, loudly, anytime we drive by such an establishment.
3. "Pam-Shoo." This might be the toughest word to identify. Imagine that it's bathtime. Little bodies are clean and it's time for the hair. "Mom, I want some pam-shoo, in my hand, too!" The shampoo is delivered and we both scrub away. Now, if I can't take a minute to enjoy the cuteness of this, I'm really missing something.
These current joys remind me of the funny words that my now-five-year-old used to spout.
"Kepspetch."
"Popspickle."
"Yawndree."
Ketchup, popsicles and laundry were never so much fun!
