“Behind the need to communicate is the need to share. Behind the need to share is the need to be understood.”
—Leo Rosten

It’s time for a little comedic break. We’ve had several serious posts so now we’ll pause and highlight an especially funny memory of our time with Eisley. She was a sharp girl who loved to laugh and smile. She picked up sign language quickly and eagerly used it whenever she could. In the three months prior to her surgery, she learned the signs for “more,” “water,” “eat,” “help” and several more. We chose to focus on signs that would be helpful in everyday communication since she hadn’t picked up spoken language yet. I imagine transitioning from hearing Mandarin all the time to only hearing English would be challenging for anyone. We believed it was only a matter of time before she spoke, though, as you could see the wheels turning in that bright girl.

 There was one sign though that became hilarious to our family. I learned soon after bringing home our first daughter that the only moment I had to myself (and I didn’t even always have that) was when I went to the restroom. Having a husband who works from home often allowed me the privilege to hand off one or both of our daughters to him briefly while I took a break and had a moment of peace and quiet. Once he thought it would be funny to come up with a saying and sign for this. He began saying “Hash tag Mama’s on the potty” (#mamasonthepotty) and making the hash tag symbol by hitting his pointer finger and middle finger of one hand against the pointer and middle of the other hand. Here’s a good example.

It wasn’t long before I discovered his little trick. Eisley quickly began using the sign as soon as I handed her off to Shawn while I went to the restroom. As he would say, “#Mamasonthepotty,” Eisley would grin knowingly. It made me laugh every time.

 Here are some more videos of Eisley using signs to communicate her needs. (If only we had a video of her using #mamasonthepotty.)