thebeckybug

We’re watching Dancing With the Stars on tivo when Marlee Matlin’s turn comes up.

Jacob asks me, “Why is he doing that thing with his hands?” Referring of course, to her translator.

I respond, “She’s deaf.”

“What is deaf?” he continues. This kid. He loves to ask questions. He would like you to think he knows everything, but kinda gives himself away by asking all those questions.

“It means she cannot hear,” I say, as the TV shows a demonstration of what she hears on the dance floor. “Watch the show, they explain everything.”

“She can’t talk?” Jacob proceeds with the questions.

“She can talk, but she can’t hear. The thing he’s doing with his hands is called sign language. If you can’t hear you use hand signals to communicate. She can also read lips. Do you not know these things?”

Jacob responds, “Oh yeah, I do.”

We both get transfixed by the TV. I’m appreciating a rare moment of non-interrogatory-silence.

Jacob breaks the silence.”I thought deaf meant you can’t breathe.” He then tries to demonstrate by holding his breath. I wait a good, quiet moment.

“No, silly if you don’t breathe, you’ll die.”

“Oh, I thought not breathing was called deaf.”

“No, there is a difference between death and deaf. Death means you are dead, deaf means you can’t hear.” I try to enunciate every “th” and “f” very distinctively.

He summarizes, “She can breathe, but she’s deaf. Can she see?”