Silent Treatment

What's the longest amount of time you've gone without talking? 

(sleeping time doesn't count).

3 minutes?

3 hours?

3 days?

how about 3 weeks?

Yesterday at 3:30 p.m. I began three weeks of silence.  I have nodules on my vocal folds.  

People who use their voices a lot in loud environments are particularly susceptible to these--teachers, singers, mothers-of-five-kids etc.  I'm pretty sure these started  back in September when I got sick and completely lost my voice.  Instead of resting it, I kept trying to talk to my kids and my piano students and the choirs I direct . . .  And my voice hasn't been the same since.  It's been hoarse and painful to speak and sing.  A lot of times the sound doesn't even come out right.  And it has been getting worse.  

The soonest appointment I could get with an otolaryngologist isn't until February, so I'm trying voice rest for three weeks and hoping they'll go away on their own!  Voice rest means, no talking, singing, whispering, laughing, crying, clearing my throat, coughing, etc.  I read on another site that you could talk up to 15 minutes a day and still be resting your voice, so I'm saving that time for emergencies;  Like today at the grocery store when I saw an old friend that I haven't seen in months and months and it's faster to say, "Hi, how are you," and, "Happy Thanksgiving" than try to write a big long message about nodules and voice rest.

For normal "conversation" I carry around a notebook or a dry erase board so I can write messages, but it gets a little tricky when all the readers are gone for the day.  Hayden keeps saying, "Mom!  I can't hear you!" I'm doing a lot of hand signs, and charades to get the little boys to understand "that it's time to get shoes on--we're getting in the car," or whatever else it may be.

We'll see how it goes.  Kind of inconvenient with family coming for the holidays, and preparing two choirs for performances in December.  But there won't ever be a convenient time to stop talking for three weeks, so I'm biting the bullet, and doing it before they get bigger and have to be removed surgically.

So don't be offended the next time you see me if I don't talk to you.  Believe me, I wish I could!  In the meantime, my blogging may pick up because I just always have so much to say!  Wish me luck and think of me whenever you say something.
anything.
at all.

"I don't wanna hear another poop outta you!"

"I think he means peep!"

(name the movie.  :) )