The Tickle Monster

For quite a while now, my nephew, Daegan, has made this funny little sound over and over again. I've not been sure how to emulate it, and I had no idea how what it was he thought he was saying. He is without a doubt an excellent mimic, so it was surprising to hear a sound repeatedly that seemed to have no meaning behind it.

One of our very favorite games to play is tickle monster. I attack him and tickle him down to the ground. It started several months ago when it was the only way to get the full belly laugh out of him that soon became "the best sound in the world" to all who love him. He still laughs until he can hardly breathe. On a rough day, it's the best medicine. With the loss of my beloved grandpa this past week, we'd all been tickling him a little extra to get that healing sound.

The trip to Omaha for the funeral didn't even begin until 7:00 at night. I worried how he would handle it, but he played with a favorite toy I gave him for Christmas. This toy is a favorite of both boys. It sings to them, plays games with them, and calls them by name. The adults' favorite part is that it can be set to play 2, 5 or 10 minutes of bedtime music (which can also be personalized.) Shortly before playing his own bedtime music and falling sound asleep, I caught him making that sound...as he tickled Scout and tossed him in the air, just like I do with him. I laughed, suddenly realizing the sound was "Tickle, tickle, tickle, tickle."

Once we recognized the word, we repeated and used it every time we tickled him. His word became clearer, pronouncing the t more clearly. By the end of the week, it was what he did with anything he really liked. The dogs almost got tickled to death. He even tickled his fries at the fast food store. It was abundantly clear that he had learned this tickle game was a sign of affection.

During our fourth rough night in the hotel, Daegan woke up crying once again at 3 in the morning. Because his parents were sharing a much smaller bed than usual, and I was sleeping alone, I let him curl up with me to fall back asleep. He cuddled against me all night, and at 7 a.m., I was awoken by tiny little hands and the words, "Tickle, tickle, tickle."