Just a little noise

When I was younger, I had to have a radio playing to sleep.  I could not sleep if it was quiet.  However, I had a hard time falling to sleep at my friend, "Brandi's" house because it was right next to the railroad tracks.  She told me she got used to it, and I'm sure you do, but I never did just being there only every now and then.

So it's no surprise that my kiddos each sleep with a radio on.  It doesn't bother me, except when Madolyn's is so loud you can hear it in the kitchen, and I know it has bothered Lane a time or two, or at least that's the excuse he gives when he can't sleep.

Growing up my Grandpa Kannmacher thought everyone (thing) needed some noise to keep them company.  He was adamant that a radio be playing at all times in the barn for the cows.  It was calming.  I found it creepy because you would walk in the barn, not expecting anyone to be in there, and then hear music or people talking.  Eeewww.

When my grandparents were still alive and living down in Texas, my mom would go visit a time or two each year and leave my dad at home alone.  It was not uncommon to stop in at their house and find two or three of the televisions on...and my dad not even home.  He left them on for noise and to keep him company.   I must admit I have become the same way.  I just like the noise.  You know the saying, silence is deafening.  That is, of course, until your kids have pushed you to the limit and you need some peace and quiet!  I enjoy those moments every now and then too. 

I don't like loud noises at all though, and sometimes I can get so focused on a continual noise that it takes over my thoughts and I become obsessed with it until I can turn it off.  Which brings me to the box fan that Jay has insisted we run all night long.  In the summer the excuse was the heat.  Although I never thought we needed it, I went along with it because I could always add a cover, and I did.  Now, it's on for noise.  We have it pointed towards the wall so that it doesn't freeze me out (I still feel it) as a compromise.

At first, I could not stand the noise from that fan.  Even on low, it drove me bonkers...but over time, I have come to discover how much it masks the noise from outside...and I don't mean outdoors.  I mean the kids and their friends.  How great that fan is to drown out their loudness!  It is awesome.  And since we have to keep our bedroom door completely shut because of a certain Sweet Josie who thinks our face is her pillow (not kidding), the combination of the fan noise and the door being shut is fabulous.  We can't hear a thing!

In fact, I used to have Jay shut the blasted fan off when he got up for work (4:30 a.m.) because it was so 'loud', then I realized how annoyingly quiet it got...and how I could hear him banging around in the kitchen (I know, he's not intentionally being loud, it just sounds like a circus).   Now the fan stays on.  The first thing I do when I get up is turn it off, but I must admit I have become accustomed again to just a little noise.