Take yesterday for example. My friend, Melanie, came over so the kids could play while we caught up on the latest news.

We were sitting on the couch while the older kids romped on the carpet. Melanie was nursing the baby and we were talking.

“So anyway,” she said, while tying her son’s shoe with one hand. “Jordan, don’t throw that. …Mike and I…Yes, Sweetie, that’s a really good picture… went to the conference with Amy’s teacher. We were so proud! The teacher said…Y-e-e-e-e O-o-o-w!”

No, the teacher didn’t say that. Melanie did. Because just at that moment the baby decided to turn his head rather sharply to the side to watch what the older kids were doing -- without releasing his firm hold on his milk supply. After that, the talk turned to the pleasures and challenges of breastfeeding. I assume Melanie’s daughter is doing well in school, even though I didn’t exactly get the whole story.

You see, with Momversations you have to fill in the blanks yourself, since with kids around, a complete sentence is a pretty rare occurrence. <continued below>

See if you can figure out the answers to the questions below with just the snippet of information provided:

“So, did you get that raise you asked for?”

“Oh! It was so great. I just marched in and told my boss...Daniel! Don’t take another step towards that mud puddle!”

“Is the hardware store going to help sponsor the team this year?”

“Well, they want us to change the team colors. They asked…Who’s crying? I’d better go check.”

Did you figure out the answers? If you could tell that she got the raise and that the hardware store is indeed going to sponsor the team, then you are already well versed in the art of Momversation. It’s easy once you get the hang of it.

Sometimes, though in a Momversation you only get a vague idea of what someone is trying to tell you:

“Then Sue said…Yes, honey, it’s perfectly ok to dip your cheese doodles in your Kool Ade as long as you eat them. Uh…Where was I? Oh, yes. Sue just refused to…Eat the other part of the cereal too! Not just the marshmallows! So, then Janet left the meeting in…Your shoes? Well, where did you take them off?”

Sound familiar? It’s Momversation. Oh, and Dads speak it too.