A Real Conversation

Tonight I hit maximum capacity of times I can answer the question, "why".

I sighed. I paused. And I asked Eliot if we could take a break from answering questions.

His response was that he wanted to talk.

He didn't really whine.

He pretty much just said it matter of fact like that. Eliot wants to talk.

So I paused.

And said okay lets talk.

Truth be told I was at maximum parenting capacity (my activity for the afternoon was driving around town so I could listen to the radio and pretend I was alone - which was being thwarted by Eliot's desire to talk).

I don't know how the conversation opened up. I do know that we ended up driving by a park in downtown Minneapolis and Eliot asked me the name of the park.

I looked over and realized that it was Elliott park we were driving by.

So I giggled a little bit and said, "Elliott."

Eliot laughed.

He laughed.

Not a silly, someone just tickled my tummy, or I'm getting chased around laugh.

A recognition of a joke laugh.

A pause followed by a belly-laugh.

He said, "noooooooooooo its not".

And I said, "yes it is. That park's name is Elliott. Its Elliott Park."

And he laughed more.

And we went back and forth like that several times. And he told me he thought I was joking. And we both laughed. And we even called Aron for confirmation on the whole thing.

It was a conversation. It ebbed and flowed. It included authentic laughter by both of us.

It was the most fucking cool thing I think I've perhaps ever done as a parent. Well next to giving birth and that whole gestation thing and nursing and making it through each day and somehow making it through 12 days in the hospital and all of that other stuff.

This is one major door we walked through.

I fell in love a little more today.