My two new favorite words

Tonight, I'm here at the Type A Mom Conference doing the anti-social media thing. There's a talent show happening downstairs but I'm holed up in my room with a burger and sweet potato fries, I have a mask on my face, and in an hour I'm planning to get a good night's sleep for the first time in I dunno. I may have just officially confirmed that I am getting old and boring.

I called home before as I was walking around Asheville's downtown, a really cool area. Sabrina's first words were, "MOMMY! I stayed up really late last night and watched TV!" She seemed quite proud of herself. Then I asked the babysitter (Dave gave himself the night off) to put Max on the phone. Max was babbling on and on, but I couldn't make out any words. Suddenly the babysitter said, "Tell Mommy you're getting dressed."

And Max said, clear as anything, "Getting dressed."

I stopped in the middle of the sidewalk. I have never heard Max say anything so intelligibly, other than the word "No."

"MAX!!!" I shrieked into the phone. "You said those words SO clearly! I am so proud of you!"

Something really big is going on with Max's speech. I mean, B-I-G.

It's just a little over a year after the stem cell infusion. And I'm beginning to wonder if maybe, just maybe, it did something.

At the BlogHer conference, I was speaking with a mom who was complaining about how much her kid talks. "If Max could talk like that, I'd never get tired of listening to him," I said. She responded, "Oh, come on, you would!" And I said, very firmly, a little edge in my voice, "No, I wouldn't."

I am awestruck by every single word that comes out of Max's mouth. And grateful in a way I've never been grateful for anything in my life.

Photo/Harold Neal