thinking about lwj adopting baby a-yuan and reading in a child development book that children learn language by listening to adults talk, so he tries to overcome his life-long preference for quiet and starts narrating everything he does to help a-yuan grow

he feels a little weird about it at first. a-yuan can& #39;t talk back, so it& #39;s like talking to himself, and lwj has never been one to do that. but he knows it& #39;s important, and he decides to push past his own discomfort for a-yuan& #39;s benefit

lwj: i am going to make my tea now.
a-yuan:
lwj: the tea leaves go into the cup first, and then the water. i will steep my tea for five minutes
a-yuan:
lwj: the water should not be too hot.

lwj: we take off our shoes at the front door, so the carpet doesn& #39;t get dirty. i am putting my shoes in this shoe bench.
lwj: i left these slippers here. i will put on the slippers now
lwj: would you like your shoes off, too? i will take your shoes off

god i am just so enamored with the idea of lwj as a parent trying his absolute hardest to forge his own path and not repeat the same patterns that defined his own childhood. understanding that he might be uncomfortable sometimes, but wanting to do it anyways