When Mommy Can't Yell…

I ™m a talker. Anyone who knows me in real life is not surprised by that statement.   The running joke is that I came out of the womb talking.   Only it isn't really a joke.   I am loud, I talk to myself, and yes, I even answer myself on occasion.   I talk back to the news and I sing constantly. Imagine my surprise when I woke up yesterday morning and in the place of my voice was a squeaky air filled sound.   Much like a whisper but with squeaking.   Laryngitis has set up residence in my throat. At first it was quite comical.   My mom called me to hear what LaShawn with no voice sounded like.   In 29 years this has never happened.   I have had my share of sore throats and have gone hoarse after concerts.   Silence?   Never. It has been interesting parenting without much of a voice.   My children are used to Loud Mom.   This Quiet Mom thing has them a little confused.   Especially my 3 and 2 year olds.   I am using a lot of hand gestures and glares.   Thankfully I have a pretty good glare. Since I homeschool my kids I have had to get creative.   My older boys can read well so having them read what I am supposed to out loud is helpful as I can only interject when needed.   The little ones and I have done a lot of drawing and hands on play that doesn't involve me talking a lot. I have learned something through all of this.   I yell too much.   The fact that I CAN ™T yell and my kids are behaving pretty well points to the fact that when I do yell it isn't doing much good.   I am naturally loud so yelling comes way too easily.   Mom of the Year, right? I have had to work extra hard to get their attention and calmly squeak out my corrections.   Guess what?   It works most (of the time). Once my voice returns I hope I can remember that my kids actually do listen to me ¦.even when it is squeaked out.   I am sure my kids will appreciate a little less yelling.   I think I will appreciate having to yell less.