Our little boy has been making lots of progress over the past few weeks.  Verbally, he has come so far, I can hardly believe it.  When we first “got” him (he is a foster child), all he could do was point and grunt.  The car ride was filled with calls of, “Momma!, Momma!” accompanied by a pointing finger.  If he wanted something at meal time, “Eh-eh, eh-eh,” and the finger again.

Lately, though, he has been making many new sounds.  He says things like “Upstairs” and “Downstairs,” and occasionally he runs into the room and blurts out a sentence of complete and utter nonsense.  This may be my favorite time to listen to him.  There is usually an intense look on his face, and amazing child expressions as he tries to get all the words out in the right order.  There is learning there, there is sound there, and there is something precious there on its way out.

One of my favorite (and sometimes least favorite) things he says is, “Daddy, help me.”  I LOVE it that he asks for help instead of trying to do everything on his own.  Although, at times I know he can do the task he’s asking for help with, so I encourage him to keep trying on his own.  “You can do that, buddy, keep trying, don’t give up on it.  Come on, remember you did that yesterday, first you…” and the instructions continue.  At times I am not patient enough with him, and I forget that he is just 2 years old.

So, what’s that noise in your life?  In my life, it’s the sound of a little boy growing up and learning about the world, about life, about pain, about love, about running, about cars and trucks, about rain and spiders, about pizza and oranges, about songs and friends, about loss and longing… I think I like that sound.