Raising a motor-mouth

What seems like forever ago I recall longing for Princess to speak her first words so she could communicate. I would egg her on and try and coax a word out of her. Terrified that she would never speak. Well- she does. a lot. about everything. all the time. She signed but aside from that I wanted to hear her voice I wanted her to say something.

She tells me everything. All the time and uses some of the most startling words for a five year old. Acquiesce is one of the oddities that she has recently used. Really acquiesce? I have an informal rule that you can not use a word if you do not know what it means. She knew.

Sometimes I am told fantastic stories that she has made up with characters and plot and twists and turns...sometimes though it is just a narrative of what she has done, is doing, or is thinking about doing. Sometimes I understand it has to do with needing attention- being the most self sufficient child in our family does sometimes come with limited attention so I understand the need to draw some- doesn't mean I still do not want to jab cotton balls in my ears.

I hear the most detailed things and get questions about everything. Why? What is that? Then sometimes I am convinced she is just talking to talk. Just to chatter. Which is one reason I love having the neighbors we do. They have a girl who is about the same age who also chatters on and on so they absorb each other

Now- I love quiet. One of my fantasies is to be able to think by myself without filtering 5 year old chatter. Or to read a book without having to stop. To answer yet another question.
The constant chatter is like clutter for my brain and clutter makes me nervous. Seriously. I hate physical clutter and mental clutter as well.

Sometimes when she is talking I silently think to myself to please please please let her be quiet for a few moments. Just a few. Occasionally I'll request that she stop talking. The funny thing is she is not offended by that request. I was terrified of hurting her feelings if I asked her to please hush.

This all is not to say or insinuate in anyway that I do not at times enjoy a conversation with her and honestly she does say some pretty profound things that then I want time to ponder. Catch-22.

She does have a huge heart. A huge one. When she knows I am stressed or tired she will hug me saying more with that hug that all of the words in her endless vocabulary ever could.