Gracie talks a LOT these days about being Deaf. She tells us who speaks ASL only and who uses spoken english. When she signs, she explains that Deaf people NEED signs and when she talks she tells me she can hear “speakers” but only sometimes a little bit, pinching her pointer finger and thumb close together. My girl is very thoughtful. And there are moments when I’m completely overcome with gratitude that her speech and signs are both so good that I can completely understand what she’s saying. But there are other times when the disconnect is almost painful as we struggle to know what each other is saying. Somewhere in between the joy and struggle I get the privilege of seeing my two daughters (and sometimes all three of them) reach a level of understanding with each other that supersedes needing to know all the words or know all the signs. It was a happy coincidence, the other day, that the sun was rising right into our mess of a laundry room, framing Grace and Sally talking together, perfectly illuminating the interaction I could witness. I get to watch these sweet girls figure it out by themselves, without any help or prompting, without instruction or study or help. And these moments are beautiful and precious.
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Mom says
Beautiful moment!