What do you call those plastic tubes or plugs to fix screws into masonry after drilling? Andre and I didn’t have a name for them so we just call them by their color. "𝘎𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨." "𝘋𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘯 𝘰𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘦?." "𝘕𝘰, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘵𝘦." We understood.

While my wife was chopping veggies, I was asked, "𝘋𝘦𝘢𝘳, 𝘱𝘭𝘴 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘦𝘦 𝘴𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘭…" - it’s the think-of-your-own-ending-to-the-sentence request. No problem. I gave her three cloves of garlic. We understood.

When you’ve been living with homo sapiens in the same household for centuries, a new language is developed. One that only you and the household members understand: hand signals; eye movements; tongue twisters; eyebrow raising; mumbles; strange and familiar bodily sounds. Even complete silence.

Actions and silence connect us in a way that words never could.

It’s called familiarity. And understanding.

I raise this cup to family. Cheers! #MyCafeNotes