Speechless

For once, Papa was speechless!

Today was my Moving Up Day in Little Sandbox. And I received an award!

The teachers voted me the Little Chatter Award for being able to "express my mind freely" and "converse with others fluently."

In other words, because they can't keep me quiet, they decided to give me an award of excellence for being madaldal.

And I choose to chat not with my classmates, many of whom are still in the googoo, gaga stage, but with my teachers. I like telling them stories of where I went on the weekend, the games I played, the places I visited, the people I met.

Sure, I still have to work on my pronunciation and I still mix up my past perfect and past progressive tenses but by and large, I think I am understood by most.

Papa was so surprised by my award. I am sure he was proud of me. But I guess he was more caught off guard by the accolade.

Papa doesn't realize that it's all his fault. He and Mommy have always insisted on talking to me like an adult. Even when I was still in a crib and not yet crawling.

Every morning, while having breakfast and before Mommy wakes up, Papa and I spend the time talking about anything and everything. Today Papa asked me what I wanted to do during the summer. Of course he had to explain to me what summer was and what it meant. That there was no regular school because the teachers needed to rest. But that if I wanted, I could continue to go to school for special classes or join football clinics or swimming lessons.

I enjoy these chats I have with Papa. Not only do I get the chance to learn new words and expressions but I also get a chance to be with my Papa before he sets off for another long day of work.

But why were you speechless, Papa? This we have to talk about.