I could write about all of the sounds I love. I considered it but it was just to cliche. I could write about the sounds I hate but a lot of those gave me the heebie jeebies just thinking about them. SO I thought hmmm... What about the lack of sound? Silence?
Silence can be both peaceful and yet disturbing. I love when everyone has gone to sleep and I can sit and read or just veg out. I always know I need to check when the kids are in a room together and there is no sound. When I'm home alone I hear the smallest noise when all should be quiet; ticking of the clock, the ice maker, the breathing of the axe murderer that I just know is standing right behind me...
Sometimes the most frustrating thing for me is MY silence. The times I should have spoken up but kept my mouth shut. Not offering a kind word to the homeless guy counting his change for coffee. Not stepping in when an adult manhandles a child. Not telling the loud mouth racist at a party that they're a complete idiot. Not shouting at the woman in the car next to me with an infant on her lap that babies don't work that well as airbags.
There was a time when I didn't think twice about that. I would speak my mind and no one ever had to guess what I was thinking. That was before I had the kids in tow. Their safety often stifles my inner smart-ass. I just hope that they grow up brave enough to stand-up for what they believe in and yet smart enough to know when they need to back down... Just a little.
