The human cursor

Wikipedia defines a cursor thusly:

A cursor is a moving placement or pointer that indicates a position. English-speakers have used the term with this meaning since the 16th century, for a wide variety of movable or mobile position-markers.

Note that it says nothing about being computer-generated or anything of the like, which makes James’ new cursor use Wikipedia-approved.

While his language use has picked up a great deal in the last two weeks — he refers to the fish tank as “shhhh!” and runs around the house yelling “CAT!” at a shell-shocked Hanna and Lucky — he’s also taken to using human cursors. Specifically, his parents’ hands.

James’ new trick is to grab me by the finger and drag me behind him to something he wants, whether it’s an object that he thinks is a toy (a bright plastic can of fish food), an actual toy placed out of reach or as a silent plea to unlock a baby gate leading to the study or the bathroom. (He’s actually started asking for baths, too.)

This is a cute behavior, except for the death-grip he gets one’s finger in before running toward the object of his interest. Still, between this and the language use, it feels like we’ve reached another important milestone.

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