Booyah and the Art of Communication from the Mind of a 5 Yr Old

Tonight Eli and I were sitting at the table talking about our day over a late-night snack. During our conversation, Eli told me about something he had done during the day that he was particularly excited about. I just looked at him and said, "That's what I'm talking about - Booyah!" (Susan had told me the other day that Eli had said booyah while playing downstairs.)

As soon as I said that word, Eli said, "We shouldn't say that word daddy."

When I asked him why - he just showed me that mommy had made a bad face when he said it the other day.That's when I told him that sometimes there are words and things that boys say to each other that don't make much sense to mommies or other girls - and that booyah was one of those words (I did not feel it necessary to discuss the fact that the word has transitioned from cool to not so). Eli looked at me for a minute and then said - "Is it like another language?" And I simply said, "Yes."

The truth is that men and women do speak something of different languages. One of the joys of my almost 10 yr marriage has been discovering how Susan communicates and how I should communicate with her. I will be the first to admit that I am not as successful at figuring those two things out, but I enjoy the process.Tonight when I sat down to talk with my son, I never imagined being challenged to think about the differences in communication styles of men and women - but that is the joy of being a parent.