The Day He First Said “Mama”

The Day He First Said “Mama”

When he was born, I casually thought, “He’ll start talking in a year, just like other kids.” But that day never came. And just like that, ten years passed.

A small dream of mine was to be called “Mama” in a sweet, childlike voice before his voice changed. Of course, I’d still be happy to hear it in a deep, grown-up voice, but if I had a choice, I’d love for his first “Mama” to be in that innocent, youthful tone.

GENE doesn’t have spoken words, but he has his own language—GENE-speak. Plenty of sounds, plenty of vocalizations, and honestly, he’s quite noisy. If he’s ever too quiet, I start to worry. I kept hoping that, somehow, among all his sounds, he’d piece together something close to “Mama.”

Then one day—

“Ahhh! Ahhh!”

His voice rang out loudly from a distance. It wasn’t a sweet call for me. It was an urgent demand for something.

“If you say ‘Mama,’ I’ll do it for you.”

I knew he wouldn’t understand me. He never had before. But still, I let my heart speak out loud.

And then—

“Mama.”

Wait… what?

I was so stunned that I granted every request that day without hesitation. When my husband got home, I proudly reported the news.

From then on, whenever he wanted something, he would say:

“Mama.”

Sometimes, he even calls my husband “Mama,” but I guess that’s fair. To him, we’re just a team.

Curious, I asked his school if he was saying it there, too. Turns out—

“Yes, whenever he wants something, he says ‘Mama.'”

Oh… I see.

But his wonderful teachers had a solution.

“Since he has learned to say ‘Mama,’ let’s keep it for home. At school, we’ll teach him to say ‘Sensei’ instead.”

And just like that, he stopped saying “Mama” at school.

Does he truly know that I am “Mama”?

He doesn’t call my name while running toward me. But when he needs something, he says “Mama.”

And that’s enough. My dream has already come true.