Thursday, April 26, 2012

WHISPERS (A-Z April Blog Challenge)

I love whispers.  I love the hopeful whisper spoken across the top of a newborn’s head as he lies sleeping on your chest. I love the delicious whispers of a promise on my lover’s heated skin.  I love the painful whisper of shared fears and doubts as they fall on trusted ears.  I love the death bed whisper that carries a thank you and final goodbye.

At ten, my mom still came into my room to tuck me in for the night.  She’d find me curled on my side, and would reach across me, tucking the sheet and blanket in around my form and around my feet.  Then she would sit on the edge of the bed as we said goodnight.  After we talked for a moment or two, she would sweep her hand over my hair as she stood.  Leaning down to kiss my cheek, I’d hear her softly whispered “I love you, Amy Elizabeth”. The last words of the day as I drifted to my dreams.     

For too many years to count, I tucked my son in the same way.  Always wanting my words, in a whisper, to be a peaceful end to his day and safe bridge to his nighttime dreams.  And for almost thirty years now, my husband has heard my whispers as I curl up to his back.  He’s slept through many of them as I (unknown to him) spoke to him through long, dark nights.  I didn’t need to wake him, it was enough to know he was there to absorb them.

Whispers carry an intimacy.  People don’t accidentally whisper.  It’s a conscious decision to share on a primitive level.  Whispers aren’t secrets, they’re just private.  And oddly enough (although maybe not so odd if you know me well) I admit I hear whispers all the time.  Whispers drift through my heart and my mind; tendrils of stories, poems, or sometimes just a group of words.  I hear the hushed tones of loved ones or snippets of conversations we’ve had – sometimes things I said or meant to say.  I hear the whisper of change as the wind carries fallen leaves down the street and the cry of the water as it rushes by the riverbank. There’s always, something, whispering to me. Intimately.  Consciously.  Privately.

I don’t pay mind to the whispers of gossip, innuendo or suspicion.  They sap the energy from me and drown out the beauty of the others.  I’d like to say I didn’t pay heed to those types as a child, but of course I can’t.  Then, those types of whispers hurt.  Alot.  They hurt enough to teach me the lesson to move beyond them.  They made me focus instead on the beauty of whispers, the protective cloak of a softly spoken word, the joy in a shared intimacy. 

It’s a loud and busy world we live in today.  I often have to remind myself to slow down and remember that words take on a different meaning when they’re whispered. And when we share them in an intimate, conscious and private way, there’s often the joy of whispered reply.

14 comments:

  1. THIS...is my favorite..this YEAR!! omygosh how this speaks to me...(((hugs))) TFS!!!!!!

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    1. Brenda, I am honored and speechless. Thank you. (Please hear that in a whisper.)

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  2. i have been trying to teach my daughter that literal whispering isn't just talking in a lower tone---wonderful whisperings

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    1. Lynn, when she "gets" it ~ she's going to love it! Good for you for guiding her.

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  3. For a moment, looking at the prairie dogs, I read WHISKERS and thought, well that's an unusual subject for a post.

    Whispers... you do the subject justice, covering all their poignant appeal, the whisper of the wind... beautiful.

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    1. Oh, that made me laugh right out loud! Thanks.

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  4. So true of our own bedtime routines with my boys. They need those whisper to fall off to sleep.

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    1. I don't know who it brought more peace to, me or Abe. Maybe both of us.

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  5. I was tucked in the same way. I tucked my children in the same and now, when I have the chance, I tuck my grandsons in the same as well.. And of course, I like you, like many of us women, have snuggled our husbands and whispered the night away..
    Great post. Loved it.
    Every day should have at least two or three or a dozen whispers. :)

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    1. So glad you enjoyed it. Thank you for your comments and sharing your whispers.

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  6. This is so beautifully written and felt and touching. I love whispering and I also hear whispers all around me when I am listening. Sometimes, I am sure it is God speaking to me about whatever it is I need to hear.
    Love, love this entire post. ♥

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    1. God's whispers. What a beautiful thought. Thank you Jo.

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  7. Of course these days when someone tries to whisper to me, I cant' hear a dang thing!

    Catch My Words
    http://joycelansky.blogspot.com

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  8. Gorgeous post. I love all your warm associations with whispers.

    Erin

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