Unnecessary Noises

We have this little game we play at our house. I made it up. Because it's all about me. And the kids play along because that's the one rule for the game: they have to participate. 


This "game" was instituted because I have "Mom Ears". You know, that supersonic, ultra-sensitive, can-hear-anything-in-the-house-and-on-the-surrounding-acre hearing that God gives Mom's so they can take care of a herd of children? The kind of hearing that requires some form of "quiet noise" to be able to sleep at night? 

My hearing is legendary. Kregg and I were once sitting in our family room visiting with some of our friends after the kids went to bed. The boys room is down the hall, but I could hear one of them rubbing some coins together in bed. I got up, walked from the family room through the kitchen, down the hall to their room and said, "Who has coins in bed?" Sure enough, one of them was playing with them after lights out. (We have had to be really strict with the younger boys about the "After Lights Out Rules" because of lots of problems.)


When the kids know that "Mom will hear us," it can serve as a healthy deterrent to crime. It's kind of like a "Super Hero" power.


The game? Well, it can't actually be classified as a game. It's more like a programmed response to a prompt. If I say, "Unnecessary noises . . ."


The children respond by saying in unison, "And our mother do not get along." It's really pretty funny, especially when the big kids and Kregg join in.


You know, there are some kids who mindlessly tap their fingers while reading. Or maybe they feel the need to repeatedly open and close the rings of their notebook. They may even have a habit of constantly making a little noise in their throat. Or maybe it's a sweet husband who clicks his fingernails together or a ball point pen in and out, over and over again. Because I hear EVERYTHING, I easily reach sensory overload. There are many times I ignore it. But I do reach the point when it HAS TO STOP! (Or I have to leave, and that is not usually a viable option.)


And so I simply say, "Unnecessary noises . . ."  And the kids, on cue, give their response and the "guilty party" sheepishly grins and stops the noise. This seems crazy to people who don't hear every single little noise, but to those of us who do it's a silly way to intervene without making it a "big deal." 


I am that weird.


And, yes, I have often been accused of being a drill sergeant. Mostly by my children.  

I'm okay with that. When all these daughters receive their own set of Mom Ears from the Lord they will understand. And they will apologize for making fun of me all these years. :)