Dogs, Coughs and Complainers

A few weeks ago we began looking for a new caregiver for our daughter Clara. We thought we found one until this morning. It was the beginning of her second day with us. The new girl began to cough after having had something stuck in her throat.

Well, Clara is allergic to all cough sounds. She’s quite a musical child and has always had a high sensitivity to noise. Coughs rank near the top of the list of noise offenders.

So, she came running to me to be consoled. Unfortunately the coughs kept coming every few minutes. It sealed the deal for Clara.

In my mind, this incidence was also a sign all wasn’t right. I had noticed a slight smell of smoke on our candidate this morning – BIG negative in my book. Especially since I am allergic secondhand smoke.

Back to Clara’s allergy to coughs. I realize this story sounds odd. How many kids do you know who start crying when they hear – a cough? Really though, it just illustrates the power that certain sounds – and smells - have on all of us.

One of the noises I’ve always disliked is dogs barking.

Here I’m walking enjoying the fresh air and mountains scents and suddenly a dog starts pounding the silence with loud woofs like I’m the intruder from hell. I’m not very particular to those interruptions.

Back to this morning’s incident. As soon as our candidate left, Clara was back to her normal happy self. Remove the culprit and you feel a lot better. Clara will have to learn that certain noises can’t be avoided. Luckily they can be nullified with soothing, relaxing sounds.

So put on a set of headsets and plug into this beautiful, positive music - beautiful, positive music. It’s a tried and true method to return to serenity – at any age.

Warm Regards,
Tania Gabrielle French

P.S. Noise proves nothing - Often a hen who has laid an egg cackles as if she had laid an asteroid. Mark Twain is talking about another form of noise, namely complaining. Next time, turn the other way and turn on the music. They’ll never know what hit them.