Monday, March 21, 2011

Indescribable.

The other day, Ashlyn was excited to tell me about a new word she'd learned.

"Mommy! Guess what? I know a new word!"

"Do you? And which word might that be, my love?"

"Indescribable"

"Oh my. That's quite a mouthful, isn't it? And a good word to know."
(I suspect I have "Aladdin" to thank for it too. They've been watching it lately and I know this vocabulary-stunner is used in the song, 'A Whole New World'.)

"Mommy, what does Indescribable mean?"

I hesitated before answering, envisioning the word and gathering its meaning; thinking of the plainest way to present it to my curious 6 year old. "Something is indescribable when there are just no other words for it. When other words are just not big enough. Not good enough for it.  If something is really really good, it's indescribable, but bad things can be too."

"Oh. I see."

A few minutes of quiet lapsed, during which I could almost hear the wheels of her brain turning.

"Mommy?"

"Yes, love?"

"Am I Indescribable in the good way?"

(Oh). "Yes. Yes you are, Ashlyn. You truly are."

In the best way.

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