What's That Buzzing?

Turns out, I am that mom.

We all know that the individual without children has all the answers pertaining to child-rearing. That's no secret. But, we also all know that the individual who is not a parent to a particular child can hear everything that child says, whereas the actual parent of that child has a hearing deficiency in relation to that child, and that child only. Because, the parent of that child can most certainly hear with clarity the child of another parent. Agreed?

I have found that I have most definitely contracted the parental hearing deficiency. And it seems to be getting worse. Not only do I have the parental hearing deficiency, I also believe that I may be afflicted with the parental attention deficiency.

I am discovering that I don't pay as close attention as I should. Often I hear a buzz surrounding whatever task I am concentrating on, accompanied by a tugging on my shoulder or leg. Once I focus, I realize that buzzing is my child talking to me and the tugging is their attempt at capturing my attention.

My automatic response to the buzzing is to respond with a yes or a no before it even registers what the child has said. Pathetic.

It seems I am waltzing numbly through life lately, only to realize later that my child was requesting attention or love or chocolate.

As I put on my jeans this morning, I noticed that there was an unfamiliar bulge in the right front pocket of my pants. Kinda unusual. Upon further investigation, I discovered a little treasure in the form of assorted rubber bands and a Littlest Pet Shop sticker.

I don't know how any of it got there. And I'm pretty sure I am the only one who wears these jeans that were fresh from the dryer.

What this means is that the last time I wore this particular pair of pants, I must have had a tiny little buzzer beside me, reaching their hand into my pocket and depositing their latest collection. And I had no idea. None. And what makes it more curious is that this particular pocket has a button that apparently had to be undone and then re-buttoned. And I never noticed.

Since we all know that people watch the actions of other people's children, I am certain that someone probably witnessed this deposit. Were you with me when it happened? Fill me in on the details, please? Because I don't want to be that mom anymore. I want to be present- I want to pay closer attention to every single word that comes out of their mouths. I want to feel every little hug. I want to see every little delighted smile that forms on their lips. I want to know when they have a treasure to deposit in my pocket, so they can tell me about it and I can be excited with them.

When I can do all that, I'm pretty sure my hearing deficiency will clear up and that buzzing noise will disappear.