Life's Simple Pleasures

This last week has been a new life for me.  Some of you know that I have been deaf since my early toddler years.  I have been fortunate enough to be able to wear hearing aids so I could still function in society.  I was raised to not allow my impairment to slow me down.  I took many years of speech therapy in order to learn how to communicate.  I am constantly praised for my ability to talk and listen without anyone guessing I have any problems hearing.  I love the shocked reaction I get from my friends, "I had NO idea!"

Would you believe I only hear HALF of what you say?  I couldn't hear the s, f, p, t, sh, ch, h, v sounds of our language.  I could see what you're saying by reading your lips.  I could say those sounds because I was trained to say them.

Until now.

Do you notice all the sounds of our world?  I never knew what I wasn't hearing, because...well....I couldn't hear them.  You don't know what you're missing, until you know what's there to miss.  I never knew what a bird sounded like.

Until now.

My children could get away with so much.  They actually have taken my deafness for their own advantage.

Until now!

My wonderful, fabulous grandmother has gifted me with a new set of hearing aids.  These hearing aids have opened up a door to a whole new world I never knew existed.  Those who live with me have been learning what they have been taking for granted. 

Birds.

Wow.  What absolutely incredible creatures they are.  I have never heard a sparrow before in my life.  A tree was full of them.  I stopped to listen to them.  I lived for a moment in noise.  I embraced the moment I was living.

Tick.  Tick.  Tick.

I can actualy hear each second that passes me by.  I can hear my car announce to the world that I am about to make a turn.

"Vvvvvrooom" is the sound I hear as a car passes me by.

"Crunch" is the sound I hear when you chomp on a chip.

On several occassions, I have participated in a conversation about our 5 senses.  It is often that we wonder which of our 5 senses we think we can live without.  When the question comes to me, I'm asked what it's like to actually live with out one of them.  I always say that out of all 5 senses, I'm glad my hearing was taken from me.  It can be repaired.  The loss of sight is difficult to repair.  I like to see the many great colors of our planet.  You sure can't replace touch.  I love the feeling of my babes' soft hair as I run my fingers through it.  You absolutely can't replace the sense of taste.  I don't think I could survive long without the flavor of chocolate.  While smell can sometimes be repulsive, I'll always appreciate the smell of a lilac bush.

Have you ever stopped to enjoy life's simple pleasures?  Try to do it at least once a day.  Just stop and live.  Or listen.  While the sound may be so annoying, be glad you have the ability to hear that sound.

I feel bad for my daycare provider...

Because she has to deal with this guy

on a daily basis.

We all love that face.  It's his mouth that keeps us all entertained.  His provider has shared numerous stories.  The one I am about to share with you has me a little worried about his future.

Provider:  Kids, I'd like you to meet Ashton.
My son:  You mean we get to say a bad word now?
Provider:  No, Dylan, it's ASHSHSHSHSHSHSH-ton. 

He was saying...well, you know...the name without the h in "ash."

Apparently she's working with the kids to say the poor new boy's name.  And my son nearly got excited that he'd get away with saying a bad word now. 

*sigh*

No worries, my Prince.  I still love you.  Remember that when I start washing your mouth out with soap.

Another wordless Wednesday

Looking for a little sunshine

I'm really trying to find the sun.  It's a cloudy day.  I know he's up there somewhere.

Oh, there he is! 

I feel better now.

A Tourrette's Moment

I feel like I want to be the meanest, nastiest  bitch WItch that ever existed. Everything is making me so angry right now! My smoking co-worker won't stop wheezing and hacking, the mushrooms for my salad are spoiled, the office is either too cold or too hot, it's 1 degre outside, people in Denver don't kinow how to drive on ice and snow thus resulting in what should have been a 8 minute drive to an hour long drive to work! And my iPod isn't working in my car, so I had to listen to three DJs banter on about something I didn't care about.


:deep inhale:

:exhale:

This is a recipe for emotional breakdown. I just can't leave the office. I just want to crawl into a cave, curl into a fetal position, and suck my thumb. Or kick something. Or hit something. Scream. I want to torture something. I want to call a random 800 number and tell the customer service rep exactly what I think about their services even though I have no clue what they are.

But I can tell you this...I don't want a smoke. That's the farthest from my mind. And the fact that the addiction still exists is another recipe to the ticking bomb....

Thanks for letting me vent guys. It's just a demon moment. It'll pass. Good thing I don't have access to "the" red button, or Iraq would have been blown off the map by now.