Words Can Be Like Huggles
if you’ve read my blog before
this may be a case of stating the obvious
but, I’m going to state it anyway
I love words.
I love language
and wordplay
dialects
and dialogue
I believe that language is an organism
a rhizome
that it is meant to grow and evolve
just as we do
just as our minds do.
from an early age, the 2nd grade I believe,
I realized that I had a home in words…
that language was a place for me
and it had to do with learning about poetry
and e.e. cummings especially…
the idea that language has rules
but you can deign to break them
if by breaking them
you express yourself more deeply
if not more clearly…
ohhh I get jazzed just thinking about it now…
thinking about that feeling
words
i grew up in a house that fostered those feelings
a house of bookworms
a prominent feature of the house I grew up in
where my parents still live
is a built-in bookshelf.
my brother and both of my parents
are voracious readers
it’s no surprise that I married a voracious reader too!
in my house
growing up
wordplay
and word games
were the usual
and long conversations
about this news item, or current event,
or that philosophical theory or mythical allegory
over dinner
were standard…
to the point that family friends
still talk about
the banter
at our house.
and even my grandmother
would comment about our
unique, stimulating dinner dialogue…
now here I am
as a parent
on the brink of experiencing all of that delight
in a new way
it’s wonderful.
The five-year-old is learning to
read and write!
sounding out words and phrases like
love, and donut, and do not disturb…
and I realize that
our dialogue
and our game play,
our relationship
is taking on a whole new dimension
and I am thrilled.
The three-year-old is not far behind…
but her language development is at a different
fun stage
words and wordplay
using words to express herself
means sometimes making up new words out of thin air,
or
combining words she knows
some are for play, nonsense words (I love these a lot)
and some are utilitarian (these I love too)
and some are just for more clear expression of what she’s feeling
a direct line to her heart, as it were. (I love these the most)
my favorite of these
made up just this morning
combines hug and snuggle
huggle
how can you not love huggle?
and how amazing that
my three-year-old
knows that a huggle is what she needs
and knows and understands our strange language
well enough to make up the word.
miraculous.
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