Thursday, April 3, 2008

A bit of random creepiness.

Emmi does not speak clearly. She can't. Her soft palate is not formed correctly. It is our to-do list of surgeries. But some words are okay. Ones that begin with M sounds, for instance. Or have "ah" or "oo" sounds in them. Kenny, Jill, and I have learned to understand her. Most people have to ask me to translate.

Jill has taken up scrapbooking. I got out the photo albums to let her pick out pictures for her scrapbook. Afterwards, we were going to CVS to make copies of the pictures she choose. Emmi and Jill got side-tracked. They never realized I had so many photo albums of pictures. Their whole lives in photos. That I arranged in order. They sat for a long time looking at photos. Some of them. Some of family members. Some of me and my friends through the years. Emmi pointed to each person, named them, or demanded to know their name. She'd ask, "Oo's ah?" Jill turned the page. It was a group shot of several of my friends from a birthday party. It was the night Kenny got my number. The girls knew a few of the people in the picture.

"That's my Stacy," Jill exclaimed!

"Enny!" Emmi excitedly pointed at Kenny's picture.

Then her hand slid across the page. She became very excited. She was pointing at Matt. My friend who died a few months ago. "MATTHEW," she yelled, in perhaps the clearest voice I have ever heard her use.

I started to visibly shake. Jill asked what was wrong. Then she wanted to know why Emmi thought that person was named "Matthew."

"He is, Jill."

"How did she know that!" Jill asks me, confused, because she knows most people that Emmi knows.

Except I don't have an answer for this. She had never met him.

8 comments:

Tiffany said...

OK- It's time for you to call Lisa Williams. If you don't know who that is.. google it.

Tricia said...

I don't know who that is...but Dude, what is with my kids and talking to dead people? First Jill and my grandpa. Now Emmi and Matt? CREEEEEEPY!

On another note, Pei Wei has the yummiest Asian Chicken Salad ever. I got it yesterday for dinner, and saved half for lunch today. I think I might eat lunch now. It is only 10:15.

Karin's Korner said...

Wow, just WOW. I agree with Tiffany. It is time to call Lisa. She is terrific. I think that Matt comes to visit you and because Emmy is who she is, she is able to know he is there with you. Very cool but I can see the scary part that you have in you also. I think you should embrace it. About a year after my father passed I was sitting in my living room watching television and all of a sudden I could smell cigarette smoke. I had quit the year before and no one smokes in my house. I knew it was my dad watching over me. I talked to him (he did not talk back, thank God because I would have freaked out) but it was soothing knowing that he is watching over me. God Bless

Betsy, short for Elizabeth, formally known as Esther said...

WOW! Thanks for the comment on my post today. I totally agree with everything you said.

I will be back again!!

Sheri said...

Yep, Emmi has the same thing going on that Jill did or does. :P Creepy!

J said...

Oh how wonderfully strange.

CC said...

I just found your blog through "Life in a Cone of Silence". Great blog! :) I have to say how lucky Emmi is to have a name with only vowels and nasal sounds. She can do it! Work on putting her lips together for the /m/. I have a student with soft palate issues that has one of the worst possible names for this palate issue. She is 7 (hasn't had surgery yet b/c of other issues) and pronounces her 8 letter name "e-e".

Tricia said...

You know, cc, it never occured to me how perfect her name is! It is the only word she can say clearly! No wonder it was the only name I would consider.