The sounds of children

I have a very clear memory of trying to leave a store while William, who was only a couple months old at the time, let us know his displeasure at the top of his young lungs.  An elderly lady came up to us as we were getting in our car and struck up a conversation about how we would miss this sound some day.  William was screaming the entire time, so what was probably less than a minute of actual communication felt like at least 10. I have a great deal of respect for people of older generations and I did understand what she was saying, but truth be told, I don't think I will one day look up in the silence of my home and think: "Gee!  I wish I had a recording of one of William's tantrums..."

What I will miss is the sound of Molly's giggles.  The other day, I woke up to her laughing with her brothers and thought that might be a wonderful idea for an alarm clock.  Much preferable to the cries of a hungry child trapped in a crib. 

I will miss the sound of Dom and Will playing together in the living room.  Since I have known both of these boys since before they could talk, I am constantly delighted to listen in on their conversations.  Though, I'll censor out the sound of fights that end with Will crying and Dom running up to his room.  

I will miss Dom turning to me unexpectedly and saying "I love you!  Give me a hug!" or Will asking me to hold his hand just because.   

And I will miss the kids spontaneously breaking into song.  As I write this, I can hear Dom singing a version of a college fight song as he gets dressed.  Will is intoning some new agey thing with sounds only his unique vocal chords can make as he procrastinates getting dressed.  Other favorite songs for them are: "The Days of the Week", "The Continents", "Little Bunny Foo Foo", and "The Imperial March".  Oh, and the chorus to "The Schnitzelbank".  Thank you, L'Opa!

I could write about many other sounds that lighten my heart as I go about my day, but Molly is indicating I have been away too long with a sound of her own, Dom is asking me for something, and Will is coming to his big finish.  Excuse me while I go enjoy these sounds of the present.

**A very short story:
Discussing planets has paid off in vocabulary.  This evening, Dom and Will were spinning around in the living room and Will (age 3) says:  "Look Mom, I'm rotating".  Look out NASA.