Thursday, November 12, 2009

The Whistler's Mother (A Cautionary Tale)

Once upon the time there lived a beautiful princess full of patience, wit and grace; but this story isn't about her. It is about a slightly frazzled, frumpy, grumpy mother who, cursed by the evil work schedule of her husband, had to take all the children to the far away land of piano lessons (even though only the oldest three take them).

During this long journey, amidst conflicts and territorial disputes, an annoying sound permeated the air: the sound of whistling. "Please stop whistling," this mother would ask her 3rd child and for a time it would stop. But the yearning of expression is strong and inevitably the whistling would start again. Loudly, the same lines over and over and over and over till the mother wanted to jam something, anything, into her ears to keep that tune from echoing inside her already stressed out mind.

"JUST STOP WHISTLING NOW!!!" She finally exclaimed in a last ditch effort to preserve sanity. In the stunned silence that followed the mother could (finally) hear her conscience whisper, "Dude, that was a bit harsh." In an effort to restore any lost or broken confidence in her tender son, she followed the outburst by weakly chuckling, "You know, you are just like your father, he is always whistling, too. Can't help it."

And That Was The Fatal Flaw Which Sealed Her Fate Forever.

"Just like Dad. I whistle all the time just like Dad." Now her entire house is filled with the whistling of this young child. Interspersed with, "You know I whistle all the time, just like Dad." One can hear the forced quality to the whistle, but it is quickly being engulfed by a more natural, habitual sound. Years of living with a unaware, prolific whistler are now twice as fun. She inadvertently created a monster.

The moral of this story? Never, ever, EVER drive with Peter or Ethan on a long car trip. Especially if the radio is broken.

The End.

16 comments:

  1. Hilarious! If I wasn't laughing so hard, I'd send you some ear plugs.

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  2. ha ha! you know there are professional whistlers out there. Get him in some lessons! the next olympic sport...

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  3. It was hard for me to read this because my son can whistle better than me. There I said it.

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  4. Isn't it a shame that our selective hearing doesn't work as well as our children's?

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  5. Claudia- I think this is an earplug penetrating whistle.

    Kim- Not exactly the direction I was hoping the whistling would take.

    ihenpecked- Doesn't it feel good to confess? I am an awful whistler myself.

    Emma Jo- If you find out a way to do it, let me know ASAP. I'm sure our husband's have figured it out. Mine, at least, is an expert on selective hearing.

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  6. Kids always want to be just like their dad or mom. I guess Gordon can never visit your house.

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  7. Ummm, I can't even whistle. No joke. But, stress + whistling = crazy mommy moments. Your attempt at redeeming yourself worked, better than you expected.

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  8. Note taken. And on a larger scale, don't compare them to daddy in exasperation because they will totally not get it.

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  9. Tucker Mom- Gordon would lose his mind (although Peter does try very hard not to whistle when he is around!)

    Ambrosia- I've always wanted to do the loud whistle with your fingers thing, but have never been able to do it successfully.

    Steph at D&D- Definitely a hard lesson to learn.

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  10. What a cute story! I love that Ethan wants to be so much like his Dad.

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  11. There is nothing I hate more then repetitive sounds. Ticking clocks. snoring, whistling, ect. all drive me crazy.

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  12. I love the moral of the story best. And I think I went a little insane just reading it. I can't imagine actually listening to it.

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  13. My son is all about his dad right now, so I can relate to this post. Yes, sometimes you just need some quiet. I've been trying to enforce a little quiet time each day with this move to the new house. It's working, kind of. =)

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  14. Just reading about people whistling makes me a bit edgy. My kids will probably learn real quick whistling isn't allowed :) I didn't notice Peter whistle at all while I was up there last time. Thank him for me, eh?

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  15. Boyer family- It really is sweet, especially since he looks just like his dad.

    Mom at Our House- You might not want to come to my house, where the kids love to repetitively do everything!

    Steph- It is an important lesson to learn.

    Gabrielle- It is nice when they want to be just like dad, though. We have been trying for some quiet time, too, but it isn't working out too week for me.

    Gordon- He does consciously try to curb the whistling when you're around, but it hard when it is so ingrained.

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  16. As I read this, I kept hearing the haunting theme from The X-Files. (The last phrase is whistled, right?) That song is a nice blend of crazy and whistling.

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