The real value of old family movies

What I remembered: Sentences more than eight words long. Near-perfect grammar and syntax. A vocabulary that would be astounding for a child double her age.

What I had completely forgotten: Pronunciation that was so difficult to understand that I needed to translate those wonderful, complex sentences for other people more often than not.

When I studiously avoid comparing my children obsess about the differences between my kids' development, verbal ability is always at the top of the list of things that I clearly have no business comparing. Julia was an incredibly verbal 2 year old. Evan? Is a boy. A different child. Has his own set of talents and abilities worth mentioning. Comparing the two does me no good, and it's not fair to them either. But what can I say? I'm human... and it's hard to forget. Or so I thought.

Last weekend, we watched old video of Julia just after she turned 2. Her sentences were every bit as impressive as I had remembered; that part of my memory had served me correctly. And yet, watching and listening two years later, we really had to struggle to understand them. It turns out that her articulation was scarcely better than Evan's at this age. And I had completely forgotten that.

Comparing my kids is never, ever fair to Evan, not when I'm comparing his current reality with a hazy memory of Julia. But comparing them side by side at the same developmental stage? Sometimes a little perspective is a very good thing.