Go Ask Dad's ABCs: Q-R-S-T

Of course, you know your alphabet, but have you considered the letters from the perspective of words specific to your life as a parent? I continue to add to my list!

The capital Q is my children’s favorite letter because Ramona Quimby, Beverly Cleary’s heroine, added small triangles for ears and whiskers on each side to transform the Q into a cat. In tribute to this little girl, we named our dog Ramona.

R is for Ramona and also for room – the restricted room of my childhood. Growing up, it seemed like every house had a room where kids were not allowed. This room had lace doilies on the armrests of wingback chairs, vacuum lines in the carpet, and a crystal bowl of fossilized candy on a glass-topped table. My offspring run amuck throughout our house with Ramona the dog, but my wife does reserve a deep-basin tub for her own private soak after everyone else is snoozing in bed or, in Ramona’s case, under the bed.

S is for squee, a delightful word to say. Squee refers to a high-pitched sound of delight. It can also be a verb: one might squee at something cute, like a baby otter riding on his mother’s belly. Otters are squee. Webster’s points out that many words with the prefix squ refer to contraction and compression: squeeze, squint, squat, squish, squash. Reading that list out loud ramps up the squee factor.

T is for toes. When one is very young, the big one can be inserted into one’s mouth. I don’t know if this particular act is T for tasty, but seeing children do this makes me squee!