[ Warning: You probably aren't going to get this if you have never watched any of the Wallace & Gromit movies. Or if you don't like cheeze. ]
I spent the day with Maya and family, first shopping at the open market, and then flying kites in the dog park near our house. Then, instead of going to a cafe, which is my usual ritual on these weekends home, I decided to sit on a shady canalside bench and write for a while. Of course, as often happens, now that I'm here in a cool place to write, I can't think of anything to write about. So I'll "prime the pump" by sharing an incident that was fun for me today. It has to do with the wonder of communication, and the magic of shared humor. Watching Maya learn to communicate with her fellow human beings over four and a half years has been a veritable education, and one not limited to spoken language. Her first language was not verbal. Having heard benefits of the practice from other parents, we taught her sign language before she could speak. There are standard signs that are (or were, in Spain) used for common needs and common objects, and were even known and utilized by kindergartens and babysitters, so we went for that set. There were signs for hungry, signs for "Ow-ee" or pain, and specific signs for different kinds of foods or other things she might want or need. The one sign we customized and added to the set of standardized signs, however, was the Nick Parks Universal Sign For Cheese. Maya knew and mimicked this sign before she was old enough to *eat* cheese. When she grew old enough to not only eat cheese but love it, she kept using the sign, and used it instead of *saying* "Cheeze." Then, when we introduced her to the Wallace & Gromit movies, she got the reference and the humor and *really* kept doing it, so much so it's become a kind of running family joke. Any time cheese is spied in a store or appears on our dinner table, Maya makes the cheeze sign, and we all laugh and make it, too. That is why it was no surprise to me this morning when she instantly "got" the private joke in a graphic I'd brought back from Paris to show her. For Maya, "Paris" is synonymous with the "Eiffel Tower." When Uncle Barry goes away for the week, where he goes is to the Eiffel Tower. So I bring her souvenirs and photos with the Eiffel Tower in them, and she always squeals with joy and points to the picture and says, "Paris!" This morning I showed her this one, and without skipping a beat she squealed with joy, pointed at the picture, made the sign, and said, "CHEEZE, Gromit!" Then we both cracked up. Now you know why we get along. We have similarly bent senses of humor. [https://fbcdn-sphotos-b-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/254647_450427724\ 999088_1536644309_n.jpg]
