Additionally, I'm also a grate speller too

I don't know if it's post-pregnancy or sleep deprivation or just the way things go, but anymore, I retain information for approximately 15 minutes.

And I can't remember words.  And I'm regularly unsure of whether I said something out loud or just in my head. Seriously. I'm constantly all: Did I just ask her if she wanted a drink out loud? Or did I just think it?

It can make conversation with me a little awkward. You might think that I really really want you to have a glass of water, for example.

So a couple weeks ago, I had coffee a woman I'd met a while ago through a mutual friend. I liked her and her husband when I met them, and they a daughter about Jordan's age, but we never got together as they were moving away. Turns out they moved back, and I ran into her and her husband on the street one day.

We discovered we both had second children born days apart, and arranged to meet up at Tryst to talk about all things new mothery and such.

The day we met I was having a particularly vocabularly-challenged kind of day. Like, we were talking about our deliveries, and I could not for the life of me come up with the word anesthesiologist. In situations like this, I do a version of out-loud charades. I gesticulate and pantomime and describe.

"You know, the person with the needle, and the pain medicine and they make you sit still..."

(Seven syllables, first syllable...)

"Anesthesiologist?"

"Yes!"

I can't remember the other stellar example, but genuinely, it was something like ice cube.

"You know, it's square and cold and you put it in drinks..."

Here I feel compelled to mention that this woman is extremely intelligent, has a law degree from somewhere impressive, and is friends with a number of my crazy-smart friends.

So.

We wound up talking about everything pregnancy and childbirth and the challenges of juggling a toddler and a newborn. Which led to a discussion of drinking during pregnancy and nursing.

She said that a friend of hers didn't drink at all during her pregnancy or the entire time she nursed, which was well over a year. She contended that her friend's child - the same age as her first daughter and my son - was clearly smarter than her daughter. And she wondered if this ought to be attributed to alcohol consumption, no matter how minimal.

I said, "You know, I drank wine while I was pregnant with Jordan, and while I was nursing. He's pretty sharp and he has terrific language skills."

Then I realized that I probably sounded like one of those assholey ooh my kid is sooo amazing kinds of parents.

So I added, "I think he takes after me. I have to use my fingers and toes to do math, but language has always been my strong suit."

Pregnant pause...

Ice cube! Anesthesiologist? Four syllables, sounds like drink of water? Unless I already said that out loud?