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Callum finds a way to cover up the misdemeanors of yesterday.

Something beautiful to share.

Stepping into the Apple store, immediately asking the sales assistant in front, "Hi, where can I find...?" and realising I hadn't given that brief moment of acknowledgement with a smile and actual recognition. Had I done so perhaps I would have given the assistant the opportunity to have typed on the iPad "I'm deaf" before passing the iPad to me to ask a further question. Strange that I should have felt stumped. 4 days at the CHARGE syndrome conference I witnessed enough impressive signing for it to become, still extraordinary, but commonplace. And that's the operative word. It was commonplace in that place, not in this place. I wanted to apologise for saying "I'm sorry." I realise that it's something I hear very often with Reuben when people ask about his disabilities. I had til now assumed they were saying "I'm sorry for him" which no one would want. But perhaps they were saying "I'm sorry, I misunderstood." Did he understand that's what I meant or did he take it to mean "I'm sorry you're deaf".

I returned back to the assistant from my place of being stumped. I was carrying my newly charged phone. I'd set it to Youtube and I started to play.

The assistant's face rose with a smile. Then a laugh. He was watching Reuben's videos, double handed signing and speaking the alphabet. Then with the volume turned off, Reuben signing Special to me. I attempted to sign and finger spell when I didn't know the words in ASL. I stumbled and fell. You know indeed how it feels when you start to speak a second language with a beginning or even intermediate knowledge of the language and have the response come back and you can't understand a blooming thing. And that's how it is with sign. His fingers were moving way too fast for me to translate because I'm not at a level where I can fill in the gaps, still translating every letter and word without the fluidity of transition.

Before I left, he wrote a little note to Reuben. "Visit me. I'll help you with some sign. Should keep up the sign language; it helps very much".

Perhaps, after such a long absence of learning, we should indeed.

And perhaps too I will spend even a brief moment in acknowledging the other person as a complete individual when I walk into a store.

And the video. Here it is again, obnoxious mother alert.