Cat Baby
Meow and
meow again and
the toddler
pipes out a
stream of high-pitched meows that
no cat would ever
mistake for
coming from the mouth
of any
of its kind –
but just right if you are the
toddler’s purring mom
(shadorma chain)
12/6/18
12/12/18
The cries of one’s own baby are so distinctive. I found I could ignore the cries of umpteen small humans because I knew they were not my own but I would instantly recognise if it was one of my own who was whimpering or squalling. I could also tell, after the first few months, whether he cry was motivated by hunger, tiredness, discomfort, or just dissatisfaction. The things hormones do to the parental brain are really weird. Perhaps even weirder, however, is that I know what my cats’ different meows mean, especially with the older cat.
I pay no attention to a baby crying at all since no baby exists in my daily life, but when one did, there was always that perking up…is is mine? and sinking back when I checked and it was not. As for the cat, when we had four of them, every one of them had a very different voice and vocal habits. Never any doubt who was talking! And what about, too.
Yes! I actually remember the moment when my husband and I realized that we were no longer tuning into the sound of baby cries to adjudicate whether it was our responsibility or not. We realized we had left that phase behind and gave each other a high five.
I love how this flows to the ‘punch line’ Definitely a smile 🙂
Thank you. It’s funny what a chance encounter can lead to in your mind, isn’t it?
And the same feeling will roll along through the years until one day, you realize, someone yells out Mom and you don’t even think it could be meant for you. Which is nice.