today is the day...i heard some things (an experience post.)

I shushed myself!  I know, I know, for those of you who know me well, that was hard.  And from the messages that several of you sent me, it wasn’t the easiest thing for you to do either.  But it was nice, wasn’t it?  It was nice for me to free myself of the pressure of trying to think of what to say next.  I was just, well…present. 

And I learned a few things during that time. 

My kids don’t actually fight all of the time.  I really thought the two older ones (ages 9 and 7) fought every waking moment of the day.  But in reality what might have sounded like fighting when I was talking was actually singing together.  I heard that when I shushed myself.  It wasn’t normal singing though.  It was singing combined with giggling, which was like listening to puppies wrestle while making those little sweet whining noises. 

I couldn’t help but to smile. 

And the giggling got even louder as I realized that they were dancing in their seats singing a popular Disney Channel song and changing the first letter of each word to the letter “Z” so “You don’t know you’re beautiful” becomes “Zoo zon’t znow zou’re zeautiful.”

But that giggling.  Man, that’s good stuff. 

And my silence was broken when I found myself humming along to “Zoo zon’t znow” and the sound of my own laughter floated through the air.  It was simple.  It was great.  And it was a moment I would have missed if I had been talking. 

I wasn’t at work this week, so my silent time was mostly around the house and therefore, around my kids.  I heard the slight lisp in words of my three-year old.  The words “Yes Mama” come out as “Yeth Mama” and it was so sweet that made me want to take her in my arms and squeeze her tight for being so young and innocent and cute. 

So I did. 

There were all kinds of sounds that took over my day – birds outside on the feeder, dogs barking in the distance, neighbors having a conversation, bike tires running over gravel, a basketball swishing through the net, pages of a book being turned.  These weren’t necessarily life changing sounds, but they were life being lived and I have to admit that when I am so busy talking and rushing, I often forget that life is actually being lived around me. 

It was a simple action.  It was a good day. 

And I should probably shush myself again in the very near future.  I mean, come on, I wouldn't want to miss crazy songs, uncontrollable laughter or sweet little lisps.