Top Ten Tuesday: What Was That Sound?!

I am very sensitive to noises. TFW is constantly mocking my frequent screeches of “what was that?!” at every creek of the house or rustle of leaves. I once nearly had a heart attack when my shaver fell down in the shower at 4am; TFW happened to be out of town at the time and I laid in bed paralyzed with fear until the sun came up, convinced that someone was trying to break into the front door (the fact that said door is in the complete opposite direction of the sound’s origin did nothing to assuage my terror, nor did the fact that my dog — who sleeps right in front of that door and barks for ten straight minutes if someone so much as walks down the sidewalk in front of our house — hadn’t made a peep).

Since becoming a mom, I am even more tuned into the noises around me. Unless the baby is right in front of me to prove me wrong, I assume that every mystery sound is either the baby choking to death or an intruder sneaking in to kidnap him. Try not to be jealous of the constant state of stress I live in with this type of a brain.

Of course, not every sound terrifies me (just most of them). Some sounds are downright fantastic! That said, as a mom, I’ve found that my definition of a “great sound” has evolved since my baby-free days, when I would have cited things like a Bad Religion concert or perhaps my husband saying “want me to pick you up a soda on my way home?” (true love) as my favorite sounds. Those things are definitely still up there on the list, but there are a number of new sounds that I have only recently begun to consider music to my ears. Below are my top ten favorite sounds in the world…since becoming a mom:

10) The baby NOT screeching when he hits his head. This kid has quite the adventurous spirit and is constantly trying to climb over/under/through anything and everything, and as a result he falls over and/or whacks his head on something no fewer than 600 times per day. Every time it happens, my heart skips a beat as I anticipate the crying. Whenever he dusts himself right off and continues playing without a fuss is call for celebration!

9) Bubba’s hysterical laughter. No need for elaboration here — it’s adorable and joyful and I just love it. Plus, I feel like an awesome comedienne.

8) Whisper-singing. Bubba is a big fan of my singing (too bad he is literally the only person on the planet with this affinity), and he likes to “sing” along. That’s cute enough in and of itself, but it gets better: when I rock him at night, I sing really softly in an attempt to be soothing, and he adjusts his volume accordingly! The first time he did it I busted out laughing and then got a little tear in my eye because it was honestly the most precious thing I had ever witnessed.

7) Silence at 6:00am. For a long time, this kid would not sleep past 6am. This trend has recently gotten a bit better, but I have been so conditioned to wake up early that I keep waking up around this time on my own anyway. Realizing that there is no noise coming through on the monitor (which of course means that I get to go back to sleep) is like winning the lottery.

6) TFW saying “why don’t you take a break?” Don’t mind if I do!

5) The vacuum being used…by the babysitter. Every time I hear this glorious sound (remember, I work from home ), I want to run out there and hug her. It is hard enough to get the dishes done on a semi-daily basis, much less vacuum…if she didn’t do it, who knows when it would get done (answer: rarely).

4) And in a similar vein, the babysitter mixing up bottles at the end of her shift so that I don’t have to make them later.

3) “Welcome to our learning farm, we’ve got lots to show you!” This is the opening verse to the song played by the activity board thingy I put in the baby’s crib (AKA the Pit O’ Toys). Hearing him play with that as he’s falling asleep or when he first wakes up is infinitely better than listening to fussing.

2) Baby babble. Like the singing and the laughing, it’s just adorable. If only I knew what “da da DA deeyaya ba ba deeba!” meant.

1) “I’m home!” No matter how much I enjoy taking care of my baby (and I really do), I am never happier than when the hubbins comes home to share the fun…

…and the work.

Is it my break time yet??

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Thanks to Mama Kat‘s writer’s workshop prompt (“Listen to the sounds in your house for 5 or 10 minutes. Write about what you hear.”) for the inspiration!