Aitch wakes up kind of crabby, just like everyone else in the house, so on mornings when I just don’t feel like a lot of hassle I enter his room with a sippy cup and a plan. “Do you want to go downstairs and get a muffin?” I warble, for example.

If I’ve hit on something that passes muster, we’re good to go. However, I have to be careful not to mention any other activity before Aitch has had a chance to complete the first one. For example, if on the way down the stairs, I mention, “Then we’re going to the playground!” or “After that we’ll go to school!” Aitch will freak. I’ve finally figured out that, in his mind, I’m changing the plan. I said “muffin,” he heard “muffin,” and we’re not deviating from the “muffin” protocol, goddamn it! He has a general grasp on the concept of “future,” but not when there are muffins involved in the short term.

Aitch, though, has been making great strides with the idea of “past.” We’ll sometimes review his day with him: “Do you remember when we saw the seals in the water? And the one seal was swimming upside down?” He will often respond with something like, “Seals? Done.” This utterance is accompanied by a dismissive wave of the hand and a few more repetitions for emphasis: “Done, seals. Seals? Done.” As far as I can tell, he is using “done” as a marker of tense, which I think is very clever for a kid who mostly avoids verbs.

Aitch also increasingly uses “done” to compartmentalize scary experiences. With Halloween on the horizon he is sometimes frightened by scarecrow or jack o’lantern or costume display. For example, the other day we lost Gordon on a shopping expedition, and I had to traipse Aitch back through the store to look for him. (Yes, I realize “traipse” is not a transitive verb, but believe me I was traipsing him). During the search Aitch spotted a figure dressed up like a zombie and became agitated: “Man? Man?” We left the aisle and I told him not to worry about the man; he’s “all gone.” As luck would have it we never did find Gordon (kicking self), and Husband was kind enough to replace him (kicking self harder, as Gordons cost upwards of $18. New rule: Gordon does not leave the Isle of Sodor). Now when Aitch sees his new Gordon, he remembers “Daddy Gordon Gordon Daddy new” (translation: Daddy bought me a new Gordon–not sure why the repetition), and then recalls the zombie we saw when looking for him: “Man? Done. Done, man. All gone man. Done. Done.”

It’s amazing what he can convey with just a few words. I think I’ll be a little sad when he finally masters linking verbs.