Superstitious

_{Me, Sister, and Mom.}

A month or so ago I stumbled over an old picture of my mom, my dad, and me as a newborn. Moosie was nearby and I asked him if he knew who everyone was. When I pointed to my mom, Moosie said "Ma Ma Pat ... Die."

Now, my mom did die many (20+) years ago, but I was taken aback because it's not really something that's come up with Moosie since he is not quite four years old. Since he is becoming more verbal, I was able to figure out that he had heard something about “Ma Ma Pat” and “dying” from my mother in law. I'm sure Bubba, boy of many questions, brought up my mom while exploring the topic of death. (Bubba is into the physical curiosities of death, like: “What happens to your hair,” “Do you turn into a "human skeleton," and such.) Since Moosie is never far from Bubba, he absorbs many if not all knowledge Bubba requests from those who will take the time to oblige him.

But tonight as I cooked dinner and Bubba played with a dump truck, Moosie--seemingly out of nowhere--walked around in circles contently kicking Legos, bowing his head, and repeating over and over in a sing-song whisper: "No Ma Ma Pat Die."

The more sounds he develops, the more repetitive language emerges. Each new sound is like a gourmet piece of chocolate that he rolls around on his tongue, savoring each aromatic flavor until he has grasped the full potential of the sweet. And normally it is just as sweet for us to hear him test out sounds, syllables, and words.

But this time, I have to say, he freaked me out.