The bathroom incident

It happens to the best of us. We take a seat on the toilet, our pants down. We get good and comfortable. Then, midway through the designated task, we realize the toilet roll is empty. Nothing but a cardboard spool.

This problem happened recently to a member of our family who shall remain nameless. But, as with many of life's challenges, this one led us to a pleasant discovery.



Claire happened to be in the bathroom at the time. She often is when we're showering or using the facilities. She's fascinated about the goings on. She's training herself to use her own potty one day. We in now way want to discourage that.

So, when this anonymous family member ran out of paper, s/he turned to Claire and said, "Claire! Can you go into the other bathroom and get a roll of toilet paper and bring it to XX-XX?"

Claire nodded, "Uh-huh." She walked right out of the bathroom, the THUMP-THUMP-thump of her footsteps growing faint as she tottered down the hall. A dull thud sounded as she dropped her toy on the floor. A few seconds later, thump-thump-THUMP-THUMP, she returned, walked through the bathroom door, a full roll of toilet paper in hand.




The unnamed family member later proclaimed, "That's the first time having a kid around the house has actually been practical."





But it's not the first or last time that we've detected signs that she's once again going through a developmental growth spurt that's both fascinating and exciting.




It seems as if she's changing before our very eyes. She absorbs and replicates word after word after word. She now tackles words with multiple syllables. She might not be precise, but she's definitely persistent. And her facial expressions are becoming more complex. She's into routines. She wants to eat sitting in chairs at a table. She demands the stool each morning and evening so she can stand at the counter and help us make coffee or prepare dinner. She now says "nyah-nyah" (night-night) without our prompting.


All of this reminds us: Claire understands much more than we know.