No Voice to Speak Of

If I could compare myself to any character in the Little Miss, Little Mr. children's series, there is no question that I would be most similar to Little Ms. Chatterbox.  I know I like to talk, and this blog is another method of sharing my opinion and our life here.  It is all a natural connection for me.

So, the last couple days have been torture for me. 

On Sunday, while I was at school, teaching my last period mathematics class, I noticed that my voice was becoming a little frog like in its sound.  This is pretty common for teachers because we rely so heavily on our voices as our medium of instruction.  The students found it pretty funny, but I just knew it would be fine in the morning because it has happened before.

Then, instead of it getting better in the evening, it actually got worse!  By the time I went to bed, I sounded like a squeaky mouse!  My voice was cracking like crazy!  I thought it was pretty funny, but, I was still optimistic that I would be okay in the morning.

When I woke up I had NO voice.  This was quickly becoming a disaster for me.  How was I going to teach if I could not talk!  I never call in sick.  Not for anything!  So, I went to school anyway.  I was sounding quite hoarse, but, I managed to get through first period.  Hubby came in to help teach my second period classes to give my voice a rest, but, by last period, I was done for.  Pushed it too hard.  But, I got through the day nonetheless. 

It was a very quiet evening, full of whispers from me.  I was not going to push my voice because I was taking the grade 7's on a field trip the next day.  We do not get many trips, and I was not going to miss this one.  When I woke up, I still could not talk.  But, I went to school anyway.  I was not "in charge" of the field trip and I was curious about the location we were going to visit. 

When we got back, I had a parent meeting.  This was interesting to do with a limited amount of voice to work with.  I squeaked out the important information and let the lady do most of the talking.  This has certainly forced me to sit back and listen more as I cannot give my input as much as I would like.

We had friends over for dinner last night and for the most part I was pretty quiet, sharing my few stories in whispers.  When our guests left, I continued to whisper in hopes that *maybe* my voice would be back today.

This was not to be the case.  My voice has been lost for 3 full days now.  I miss it.  I miss sharing my opinions readily and teaching my students daily.  It is hard to interact with people when you can only whisper, especially when in it 20 grade 7's in a concrete room!

Today, I did not go to school.  On top of my voice loss I have a horrendous, almost uncontrollably painful cough.  So, today, I stayed at home with Princess who is suffering from some ailments of her own.

So, perhaps tomorrow will be the day my voice returns.  I hope so, because I do not think that I can handle being away from school for 2 days in a row!  I would not know what to do with myself.  In the meantime, I sit and listen to the sounds around me.  The kids playing, the movie blaring, the food cooking, the dogs barking and my coughing.  Such comforting sounds.

Until My Voice Returns, I will enjoy the idea of talking away...