Screaming, shrieking, whining, crying, banging, bumping, laughing, sneezing, coughing, belching. farting, yelling, slapping, hitting, pushing, shoving, snapping, breaking, kicking, throwing up, falling down, dancing, running, skipping, jumping, bouncing, trouncing, wrestling, fighting, snoring.  Never boring.  These are just some of the sounds and actions in a house full of kids, sounds you may find annoying or take for granted. Sounds that may make your blood boil and at times cause you to “lose it” and scream back the likes of “SHUT UP” or “BE QUIET” or “STOP IT RIGHT NOW” or any of a number of standard parental instinctive responses.

It is easy to let these sounds rile you up and annoy you, yet in reality you should laugh and smile and cherish every aggravating one of them because these sounds are the proof of life.  These noises are the soundtrack of being a parent, and the constant reminder that you are needed here and now.  Cherish them, because one day you will miss them, as I do right now.  It is a Sunday afternoon and the house is silent, save my own rustling about.  Where once, not too long ago, Sunday’s were full of many of the sounds above, with three siblings scrapping around, causing heartfelt havoc and demanding my attention, now the house is empty.  One is living in another State and the two who still live here are off at work, or with their friends, living their lives, needing me less.

The things I too often treated as annoying interruptions I now know were integral parts of the blessings of parenthood.

Noise is good….

Jeff Sass is the proud dad of ZEO (Zach, 21, Ethan, 19 and Olivia, 18).  He is also a seasoned entertainment and technology exec and active social media enthusiast.  You can see more of Jeff’s writing at Sassholes! and Social Networking Rehab.

Photo Credit: © antipathique – Fotolia.com