Open Letter for My Son – The Child has Spoken

Dear Mikael,

At the age of nine months you have finally spoken. Honestly,it was not a big surprise, because you have been babbling almost since the day you popped out of me. When you were six months your babbles sound very much like actual words and you began to become very funny. Sometimes out of the blue you would make sounds that sound like ‘adoi’, ‘mama’,’papa’, and even ‘ayoyo!’ minus the Sivaji accent.

At seven months you occasionally called out ‘mama’ to both your father and I. And your ayoyos and adois continue. At eight months you called mama specifically to me, during those times when you need me really badly.

As much as I could be adamant that your first word is mama, I have swallowed the painful fact that you just said the word without full conception of its meaning. Perhaps mama! to you means ‘ I need a hug badly!’ or ‘ I want to watch Handy Manny!’. It could also mean ‘ Gimme The Boobs!’ or worse you could mean ‘ Stop blogging about my poop or I will write to all your Bosses!’. Well, who knows what you were trying to say although I am sure you would never meant the latter BECAUSE YOU ARE NOT A FOOL.

And finally at nine months you begin to utter a word at the right circumstances. Cat! That’s it! You can say Cat! Not at the dog, not at the teddy bear and neither at Catherine Zeta Jones! You say cat when you see a cat, dead or alive real or stuffed and when either one of us makes the meowing sound. Daddy and I am very much impressed with you kid! That is so cool!

Miki,

For the past couple of days, your Daddy kept telling me that you would answer cat! whenever he asks you ‘Miki, apa ni?’ which in English means ‘Miki, what is this?’. Even though the question was in Malay you didn’t answer kucing, you answered cat!  You Daddy was very proud.

I didn’t give his remark a second thought however, because your Daddy sometimes just say things, you know! Like he is actually the Bruce Wayne of Puchong lah… and I look like Catwoman lah… and blablabla and yatayatayata…. Oh, the part about Catwoman is true by the way!

Anyhow, yesterday while we were playing on the floor suddenly your Daddy came to us with your stuffed cat and asked Miki, ni apa?. You smiled and you grinned and when he asked the second time you ANSWERED cat! Right in front of me you answered a question! With full confidence. With full comprehension!

You didn’t say catatatataa… or cat tak tak tak tak!  You just said cat like you really understand the whole question-answer thing and most importantly, you understand the word with its correct meaning!

Perhaps other babies are doing this younger than you are, Miki, but at that very moment, I was so sorry for thinking that your Daddy has been hallucinating I hugged you tightly and my eyes began to water.

My God you have grown so big,son! And so fast! All these while I thought you are still that tiny little baby that I took home from the hospital, the one that had caused me the e.p.i.s.i.o.t.o.m.y, the one that was so helpless and fragile. But now you have talked. What’s next, Miki? Answering phone calls? Pranking 911? I am not prepared for all this, Miki! With much love and happiness I weep.

Love,
Mummy.