There are only three sounds that send a full-grown mother running. They are:
- Screams of terror and pain
- Silence
- Yakking
Screams of terror and pain. These screams stand out among all the other screams and cries children make. A scream of terror or pain is a very primal scream that, no matter what a mom is doing, it seizes her hips, rotates her toward the source and compels her legs to start running.
There’s just a BIG difference in a scream like this that sets it a part from all others. In fact a mom can probably tell you upon hearing the very first note just what the injury or fright entails.
And there is always a child waiting for her arrival because Mom is the ONLY one that can help as far as the child is concerned. It doesn’t matter how old the child is, this is a job for Mom alone.
Silence. Any good mom worth her salt will tell you that the sound of silence is a sound worthy of panic. Whether she has one child or a dozen, the minute the house, or the yard or the street suddenly goes quiet, Mom knows that SOMEBODY is up to no good and she is summoned by the silence and MUST discover the reason for it.
The sound of silence is very much like the sound of guilt, something that mothers are very adept at interpreting since they live with their own abundant supply and have plenty to dish out. If only children realized that silence gives away their misdeeds, they could get away with so much more.
In fact, if they’d just bicker and babble while they were up to no good, a parent would never be the wiser. But children are not yet able to master doing two things at one time, and that is completely in a mom’s favor.
Yakking. Whether it’s a child or a pet, a mom can hear the sound of upchucking from a dead sleep or in the middle of any racket. The urge is always to grab a towel and run while she yells for everyone to clear the room so she can isolate the yakker and the messy results.
You don’t want pets or little ones poking around inquisitively when there is an active yakker in the house.
And yet, there’s always an audience with at least one informant that stands and gawks and states the obvious through the whole ordeal:
Mom, the cat is yakking!
Mom the cat yakked!
Eew! Mom, the baby is touching it!
Mom, you’re cleaning that yak, huh?
Wow, what a mess….
Needless to say, all this is why, as much as a mother complains from time to time, the truth is that the sound of babbling, squawking and bickering is music to a mom’s ears. It means that all is well!
