What's Your Sign?

According to her therapists, Lily is becoming quite good at sign language.

There are several signs she does very well, like textbook American Sign Language.  Then there are some signs that she has kind of adapted to her liking.

I don't know sign language but I've always been intrigued by it.

In fact, while in college, I enrolled in a sign language course as an elective one semester.

I called to share the exciting news with my parents.

Not very subtly, my dad reminded me that electives were for students who were paying their own way through school.  And that I could stay in school for as long as I wanted, taking all the electives I desired.  But he was paying for four years of college and not a minute more.  Then you are on your own, missy.

I dropped the class.

So, instead of already being fluent in American Sign Language like I just know I would be had I taken that one semester class back in 1988, I am trying to cram yet more new information into my already overloaded 41 year old brain.

The same brain that never really grasped the elusive concept of making change until I had to teach it to Reagan in homeschool math.  That freezes up every time a salesperson asks for my zip code when I'm using my credit card.  That can't remember to buy all the items written down on the grocery list I'm holding in my hand.

You watch.

One day, I swear my brain is just going to quit.  As in, kaput.  Enough.  No more.

I'll be trying to do some seemingly simple task, like double the measurements in a recipe and my brain will reach capacity and just stop.

I really don't think my old brain was meant to hold as much stuff as it tries to.

Which is probably why in unsuspecting moments, it just kicks out vital information like my home phone number yet still remembers the lyrics to almost every song by Duran Duran.

And now I'm continuing to push my brain to it's very limits by attempting to learn some sign language.

At the moment, I just know a few single words:  open, eat, drink, sit....

and one phrase:  "want more cookie?".

If this is the way my child can most easily make her wants and needs known to me, then by golly, I'll break out the DVDs and learn sign language.

My brain may be so overstuffed that I don't remember to put my shoes on before I leave the house or where I parked my car at Target, but I'm going to talk to this little girl of mine.

One way or another.