Prepare To Be Amazed

That should be the warning that precedes my daughter’s utterances. I am not stating this because I am a parental braggart but rather as the listener routinely amazed at what my 4-year-old says. There was the time she pointed to a map of the United States that also included portions of Mexico and said “That’s Mexico where they have horses.” I don’t ever remember pointing out Mexico to her. While the second part of her statement isn’t something I normally associate with Mexico, it’s not an untrue or implausible statement. Now she dazzles her dad and me with what she can read: Last night it was the name of a program, Twitches, in the online programming guide.

Her memory and observation skills at times leave me speechless. I only wish that I could say that my memory were as good. I am horrible about writing her observations down and find that the anecdotes I was sure I would remember I often forget. Jellybean’s memory has always been formidable. Many young children quickly forget something you told them yesterday or several hours ago. Very few ever remember something that happened months ago. Not Jellybean. I was never able to use that parental pass of deferring an action (usually a purchase) by saying next time. Jellybean would not only remember but would quote what I’d said to her (“Remember when you said…”). I’ve yet to be caught in an untruth or to mix up my stories, but that’s most likely that I’ve never really lied to her—only postponed a decision.

Jellybean is one of the most perceptive people I’ve met. She makes note of details without belying that she is doing so. In addition, she is a keen observer of people and their emotions. She’ll often ask why a person was sad when the only indication of the emotion is body language and subtle facial cues. Jellybean is not only visually perceptive: Her auditory comprehension is well defined. She rides to work with her dad, and they often listen to music together. One morning they were listening to Warren Zevon’s “My Ride’s Here.” When the song was over, Jellybean told her dad that the song was about an angel who was going to take him away. She’s right, the song does mention an angel and it is about moving on.

As Jellybean grows, I will try to temper my awe so that I might observe her daily discoveries. I will give my flagging memory a justified workout and commit her utterances and epiphanies to memory (or at the very least paper).