I’ve never appreciated having a voice as much as I have this past week. Last Friday, Sandra, Yuie, and I got together for a movie but ended up chatting for more than 3 hours straight. Well, needless to say, I came home with a raspy voice which turned almost completely silent the next day. That was about 6 days ago, and I have yet to gain my voice back. I know, that was no one’s fault but my own (but I never thought I’d have to ration my voice??). It’s also been interesting having to start phone conversations with, “No… this is not some crank calling creep!”. Anyways at work, I just use my fingers to do the talking so that wasn’t so bad, but at home the kids got free reign over me and got real good at playing dodge (especially that Wiggly Wriggly Wesley). I could no longer give verbal warnings, and I had to let my actions to the talking. The kids were pretty good at getting my cues but it certainly would have helped to have a booming voice that carries across the room.
Luckily my whisper didn’t disappear altogether so I was still able to “talk” especially when it came to the important things. What I miss most perhaps is being a part of the bedtime story and song ritual. Alex was able to help with the stories, but almost every night Nicholas would ask me, “is your voice back yet?” to determine whether the kids would get their night-night song.
So what have I learned from this experience? Make sure you record onto CD/tape a few of your kids’ favorite stories so when you are not around or if you loose your voice, you can still sit with the kids and go through their favorite books as if you were reading it to them. Also, include in the CD/tape a favorite good night song because a missing part of the nightime routine is hard on the kids and ultimately on the parents. Even something as simple as a song can make all the difference in the world to a child.