Sitting in My “Yap”

Over the years, our children have come up with some very cute and funny variations of our spoken language.  Mispronunciations, incorrectly used words, and speech idiosyncrasies have paraded through the annals of our family history, some becoming legendary jokes.  It is always a bittersweet moment when the childish speech disappears and the words are pronounced correctly all the time.

Each of our children has had a different twist on the language.  Daniel has always had trouble saying his “L’s” – they always come out like “Y’s.”  For example, he will run up to Paul, grab his leg, and say, “Daddy, I got your yeg!”  Lately, though, the y’s  have become fewer and farther between.  Having passed his third birthday, he has a pretty good handle on speaking, thanks to three older siblings, and I have sighed within myself as I see him growing up so quickly. 

For this reason, the other day, when he came to me and said, “Mama, I want to sit in your yap,”  I dropped what I was doing and did exactly as he asked.  He wanted me to read his new book (he loves books almost as much as I do) to him.  As we sat in the kitchen, reading Beatrix Potter’s Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle, I felt his little head droop , and soon he was fast asleep in my arms.  It is hard to believe that in a few years he will no longer fit in my lap, but I know it is coming.  So while I have the chance, my yap will always be open to my little boy!