Did you know your house sings?
And, the songs change over time.
Our house in the beginning was a quiet melody. The humming of the dishwasher, a radio in the background. The song was silent for many hours of the day – at least it wasn’t heard because everyone was gone.
Then came the music of lullabies, the tick tock of the baby swing back and forth. The creak in the floor when the chair was rocked. Add the back patting while waiting for burps.
The crescendo of crying each night around 6:30 blended in with the shush, shush that was added while bouncing and walking back and forth.
Cartoons and cajoling came next. The crunch of Cheerios underfoot. The kid made tractor sounds while plowing the living room carpet.
The banging of the doors in and out, in and out.
The song continued to add more verses and the chatter of the chorus reflected sports and hunting. The cleats banging against the shoulder pads as they were stuffed into duffle bags.
Laughing, arguing, conversing, bragging, became a deeper octave as voices cracked and changed.
Comparing notes on the deer that got away. The music of the trucks in the driveway found its way through the windows.
One by one the quartet voices faded away. The music changed as each singer left home.
The house was quiet again for a while – a different quiet. Always notes of voices sang as the farm intruded.
Soon the music changed completely with the wigglies joining. Their notes were always joyous and are continually changing.
I noticed when back home at my parents how the sound of the click, click, click of my dad’s cane was new. As well as the swish of my mom’s oxygen. Even the slight shrill of the door alarm as the door is opened. We have that to make sure my dad’s wanderings are monitored.
The music at the barn stays pretty consistent until it doesn’t.
The clanking of headlocks, the mooing, the shuffling, the pulsating, the skid steer in the background, the music in the parlor, the blowers, the fans . . . I could go on and on describing each and every note.
For some farms the music has stopped. For others the tempo is slowing down and even others the musical score is being rearranged in hopes the song continues.
Please pay attention to your home’s and farm’s song.
The music can get lost in the background of life and if listened to while living, makes life so much fuller.
