The Unsaid Glossary
A living archive of what we’ve thought silently, felt deeply, and never had words for until now.
There are things we don’t say out loud. Not because they aren’t true, but because they live somewhere deeper beneath the language of checklists and parenting books and “try harder next time.”
This is a glossary for the quiet ache of parenting a struggling child. For the moments between the meltdowns and the motions. For the unseen labor of holding it all together.
Each entry is one of the unsaid words we carry when executive function breaks down, when motivation evaporates, when the world demands more than our children (or we) can give.
in the quiet between knowing and naming,
-s
The Countdown Pause
(noun)
The moment between asking and answering. When your child hears you, but their brain hasn’t caught up yet.
It’s not refusal. It’s lag. Processing time.
The silence that feels like defiance but is actually the space before activation.
Used in context:
“I asked her to grab her shoes. She just stood there. I almost yelled, then remembered: she was still in the Countdown Pause.”
The Crumple
(noun)
The physical or emotional collapse after masking too long.
Used in context:
He kept it together all day. Then his sock had a string, and everything broke.