And the Hundred Acre Wood got floodier and floodier...

Facts of life time. Periodically, there can be floods in the best of places. It happens. Factor in the rivers, their cantankerousness at being forced to stay in their banks like good little schoolchildren, and it happens. Sooner or later those running waters get ticked off at the impertinence of man and all that dam(n) concrete, and woosh, over the bank it is, to have fun with the spirits of the woodlands. They all drink deep, party the night away, and then, besodden, head back to bed, awaiting one heck of a hangover. When those ffolk of the woods get up the next night, they find all manner of flotsam and jetsam that is now considerably less floaty. They get on with their lives, as we scratch our head and wonder why it was this happened to us and who can we sue to prevent it happening again and then we forget about it so we can get back to important things, like finding out how Paris Hilton is coping with life after jail.

Catastrophic floods that just sweep out of nowhere and sweep away Piglets and Poohs and all manner of other things don't happen all that often.

( Cut because I got a wee bit wordy... )

Recently Watched: Signing Time

Signing Time! Vol. 1: My First Signs DVD

This is the first video in a series designed to teach little kids how to use American Sign Language. Not only was Brandon (about 27-30 months old when he first watched it) able to pick up all the signs, he still recalls many of them nearly six months after the fact. Rachel (9) and Justin (15) were also able to pick them up without getting overly annoyed that it was a video designed for toddlers. Even more amazing, I, who can rapidly sign the alphabet at the blistering pace of one letter every 20-40 seconds (and I can read the ASL alphabet almost four or five times slower than that!), can manage the signs presented here.

I really wish we had this earlier for Mr. B, or for the other kids. Children can pick up ASL well before they're able to express the same concepts verbally, and the early communication removes at least some of the stress and drama concerning the pre-speech set. All three of my kids could sign "please", "thank you", and "more" long before they could speak. Getting them to communicate earlier removes a lot of the frustration when they understand what you are saying but don't know how to express themselves.

Of course, if, like the creator of the video series, you have a child that is severely hearing impaired, than learning ASL becomes even more important. You never know when ASL will come in handy in other situations. I look forward to picking up other discs in this series for my children and for myself.