Silenced
I lost my voice. I've never really experienced this before, except a little bit toward the end of a long day of talking while sick with a cold, but today I've been unable to speak at any volume above a whisper. ALL DAY.
It's driving me crazy, but I can see as how it's also an opportunity to learn a few hard things. Here's what I've learned:
1) My parenting, especially between 6:30 and 9 AM, is heavily voice-dependent. All morning I had to physically track down the kid I wanted to order around, and whisper in her ear, and then hope she did what I asked. This didn't go very well. I actually burst into tears (I'm still feeling kind of crappy from the bad cold that caused the voice loss in the first place, and that plus frustration apparently me into Crazy-Pants Land), which alarmed Dutch so much that she finally started helping out. Lesson: Maybe I Should Try Yelling a Little Less.
2) I had a few interactions with strangers, and as soon as they heard me whispering at them, they started treating me like I was Special, and not in a good way. The thrift store cashier started speaking very loudly and clearly to me, like maybe I was deaf, or possibly extremely stupid, as well as whispering. Lesson: Try to Avoid the (Apparently) Human Tendency to Treat People Weird When They Do Something Slightly Weird.
3) I picked Dutch up from aftercare and walked home with her in the rain. She talked the whole time. I wasn't able to say anything. She loved it. Lesson: Maybe I Should Try Listening a Little More.
It's been educational, like a little moralizing story for children, possibly involving animal characters (not Struwwelpeter, though, if the universe has any mercy). However, tomorrow I would like my voice back, please.
It's driving me crazy, but I can see as how it's also an opportunity to learn a few hard things. Here's what I've learned:
1) My parenting, especially between 6:30 and 9 AM, is heavily voice-dependent. All morning I had to physically track down the kid I wanted to order around, and whisper in her ear, and then hope she did what I asked. This didn't go very well. I actually burst into tears (I'm still feeling kind of crappy from the bad cold that caused the voice loss in the first place, and that plus frustration apparently me into Crazy-Pants Land), which alarmed Dutch so much that she finally started helping out. Lesson: Maybe I Should Try Yelling a Little Less.
2) I had a few interactions with strangers, and as soon as they heard me whispering at them, they started treating me like I was Special, and not in a good way. The thrift store cashier started speaking very loudly and clearly to me, like maybe I was deaf, or possibly extremely stupid, as well as whispering. Lesson: Try to Avoid the (Apparently) Human Tendency to Treat People Weird When They Do Something Slightly Weird.
3) I picked Dutch up from aftercare and walked home with her in the rain. She talked the whole time. I wasn't able to say anything. She loved it. Lesson: Maybe I Should Try Listening a Little More.
It's been educational, like a little moralizing story for children, possibly involving animal characters (not Struwwelpeter, though, if the universe has any mercy). However, tomorrow I would like my voice back, please.
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