November 21, 2000 - Tuesday
Holy cow! I'm getting dressed this morning and Harry crawls into the room, looks straight at me, and says, "hi dad." His mother was right there. She heard it, too. "There's no way he can know that yet," she said and I agreed. It's randomness at work; the luck of creative babble; a monkey and a typewriter doing Shakespeare. Just like the pointing at "dad," he doesn't really know.

Just a couple of minutes later, after I'd left and come back, Harry did it again. "Hi dad," looking right at me. The monkey could easily hit the same typewriter keys twice, especially if he got a big, joyous, positive response the first time. It doesn't mean he's closer to a sonnet.

Or, maybe it does. It's a small step, admittedly, but maybe learning new skills has as more to do with trial and error, or trial and reaction, than carefully planned exercises. From that perspective, Harry trying out a phrase, even if he didn't know it was one, is his first tiny move toward eloquence. If we're excited for him and he gets a reaction, he's likely to try again. From there it's just degree and practice...well, maybe not "just."


Comments, opinions?