By Christine
Huuuuuuuuuu! My children love noise. Noise and chocolate. Whether they blow whistles, bang drums, or sing at the top of their lungs, my children feel they are only alive when they can hear themselves. And when the neighbors can hear them, too. The only time the house is silent is when they are eating or sleeping. Here is a typical morning to illustrate my point.
Despite having one eye closed, I am addressed by my children, who have failed to take notice of my weary state.
"We want chocolate," they pounce on me as I attempt to lift the second eyelid. It is 8 a.m and I've overslept. My kids have been up for an hour and my husband made himself scarce the moment he heard my slippers tap-tap down the stairs.
"Did you hear that?" I call up the stairwell. I hear a water faucet turn on. How convenient, I think. He suddenly can't understand a word I am saying.
"We feel chocolate will help us," my 5-year-old reasons, batting her baby blues and sensing victory. Lunging for the coffee machine, I buy a few minutes by mumbling something about "We'll see" under my breath.
My second lid has now lifted, and I can almost see clearly. The children patiently wait in the kitchen doorway. As the aroma of percolating coffee finds its way to my nose, I can feel the neurons in my brain applaud. Two more minutes to full alert status, the neurons natter. I shuffle over to the table, but my children block my way there.
"Chocolate?" my 3-year-old says in a tone which implies he will make my life a living hell if I don't comply.
Turning around, I open the cupboard door and pull out the cocoa puffs they so adore. Listening to the tinkling sound of the chocolate balls as they dance in the bowl, I hear something else.
Silence.
Once the sugar has kicked into full gear, however, the preceeding silence becomes the calm before the storm.
"Where's my whistle?" my daughter rhetorically asks, reaching for her lime green gumball machine toy and blowing as hard as she can. I bought five minutes of silence in exchange for a full day of musical fun.
Do you have any whistle blowers in your house?
Lillianna loves to play musical instruments and sing. Whether she is singing on key or off, she sings loudly and proudly! I just smile.
On the days that she just gets too noisy I say, "Mommy's head is going to explode. Can you take a break?" She laughs and goes off to play with something else.
It reminds me of something I heard years ago. If you ask a room full of adults,"Who here can sing?" maybe one or two hands will go up. If you ask that same question to a group of kids they will ALL yell, "Me! Me! I can sing!!"
Posted by: Robin P | January 15, 2005 at 03:38 PM
Yeah, cocoa puffs! Here's to a weekend full of noise and chocolate--at our home as well as yours.
Posted by: Molly | January 15, 2005 at 10:42 AM
my son just got a whistle as a birthday party favor. it's shaped like a train, which makes it even MORE appealling. from the moment he wakes up til he goes to bed, it's all about the whistle. and my favorite part? when he says, "mommy, let me show you how the whistle works. you blow like this, 'tweeeeet,' and noise comes out." thanks honey, i'll remember that.
Posted by: Charlene | January 14, 2005 at 06:33 PM