Of Course That's A Hippo! Perception.

"Is this THE alphabet book?"

At last weeks Parent/Teacher conference my sons Kindergarten teacher told me that during every recess Julian goes to the writing table and tries to write books while the other kids play.  Aw, chip off the ole block.  His teacher told me he was particularly proud of his Alphabet Book.   When he handed it to me I felt a warm feeling for him, he hadn't told me he liked to make books.  It was a big deal for him to give it to me.   We sat on the couch together, in a familiar posture of me holding and reading, him listening.  But this time,  I was reading his letters and guessing at his pictures.  I hoped I wouldn't let him down by not understanding what he was trying to put across.  Perception is so particular.

 Apple. Nice!

Banana! Sweet.

 Ah, a little less straight forward, but I got it.  Caterpillar! Right on.

 Dinosaur! This is easy!

 Ummmm...Eagle? Yep.  Phew!

 I held my breath just a beat before I said "Frog!" Yes! Fist pump.

It got a little Rorschach for me here.  The "Go0"threw me off also.  I did not know that the second "O"  was a head.  I admit I struggled with this one.  He gave it to me..."Gorilla." OF COURSE! Forehead slap.

 H...bit of a stumper...my confidence was low due to the fail on Gorilla.  "Hog?" I asked hesitantly.  His smile went into a slit as found on a slot machine.  Dang.   "Hippo," he said, like I was an imbecile.  I was glad as long as he didn't blame himself.  "Of course that's a hippo!" I said. "Oh my gosh, anyone with a set of eyes knows that." "You didn't," Julian said.  Ah- hem.

Oh, man.  This was beyond me.  WTF.  He looked at me, staring at my eyes waiting for the answer to appear there.  Perception is so particular- and I'll add -a fickle master.  I sucked my teeth and shook my head, focus Susan.  WTF is brown and has 4 legs, a tail and a white face with a long beard? I needed to buy time. "I love what you did with the head, is that a mane?" I pointed to the white area.  "NO! That's not the head!" he shouted.  "This is the head!" He pointed to the opposite end, which then of course looked more like a head and not a kicked up leg.  I couldn't figure out the white ass. I was familiar with a pink ass.  Baboon? "I give up," I said.  He looked disappointed.  It was dawning on him that it may be the artist and not the observer.  Curtains.  "It's a jaguar, mom," he said, more quietly.  "Oh! Yes, Julian, I am not smart enough to think of an animal that special, I only think of like, dogs, cats..." T'was a tad disheartening that the idea that I was a total dolt was so easily understood.  But he straightened up his back and that was what mattered here.  Right? Kinda.   This next one was do or die.

 "Kid!" I said.  He rolled his eyes and put his neck into a reverse plank.  "Oh my gosh,  It's a Kansas City football player." But he was laughing because he knew that was  not something I would know about.  It was the grey areas that created all the tension. "Kansas City has a football team?! Just kidding."  We laughed and hugged and turned the page.

 FFFFFFF...More big blobs with four legs and white behinds...at least I knew which end was up this time..."I love the cute little head...L for Little Turtle?" He shrunk back,  his eyes never leaving my face. "That's the tail mama,"  the jig was up and we both knew it. "this one is a mane, these are eyes, it's-"  I cut him off! "A lion!" Wipe forehead with back of hand. That was close.  He remained slumped but smiled.

 Come on now...seriously? I can't remember what this one was.  I  know I squinted hard and held my breath- constipated in thought.  Dear God, please give me the answer, Rottweiler? Rabbit? Roach?  I never got it.  In case you missed it we jumped from L to R...he didn't.  They were all in the book and all looked almost exactly the same as these.   M, N, O, P, Q...R.

 Another blob.  I wanted to cry. "You get 38 guesses,"  THIRTY EIGHT!! He smiled brightly, this was fun! Looking at me then the picture, me then the picture. I was cooked after sloth, but I championed.  Squirrel.  Nope.  Snake? A snake doesn''t have legs!! Right.  So much of this picture makes sense.  Sheep.  What?!

 "A skunk," I said.  "Yep!" I seriously think it was Divine Intervention.  The pride on his face was worth every ounce of sweat.  Pretty much.

Your guess...you have 38 guesses. 

Hint: Most of the time People are not putting out what we are perceiving.  A hippo is usually not a hog.    It's a rare day where we take pause to sit and exchange and understand the different ways we see things- at any age.  

Merry Christmas. 

It was the best book I ever read.