The audience is listening

I have a cold. Again. When I whined to my husband he suggested that perhaps this is not my third cold in three months but the same cold I have been dragging around in various stages of getting better and then getting worse for three months. He just might be right.

I have a cold. His name is Mike. I figure anything that sticks around for three months must have a name. I also have concluded that my cold is male because (as my husband insists men do not understand subtlety) Mike just won't take a hint and leave. I think this is a slightly funny story. Only about half of my students thought "Mike" was funny. The other half were male and I think I may have offended them with my sexist remark. *sigh* Open mouth, insert foot, Lisa. Almost as good as when I mixed up North and South Korea in a lecture about communist markets. Only 1 student called me on it but at least that means she was paying attention.

Apparently Mike was not amused either because he stole my voice. I managed to make it through most of my two lectures yesterday but as of this morning I can whisper at best. So sad, I was supposed to host a mommy play date at my place but all I really need now is rest.

The interesting thing about not having a voice is how you try to communicate with other people without speaking to them. I feel as if I am acting out Mr Bean's Vacation minus the camcorder. Emma is taking it surprisingly well. She thinks it's a game of some sort but mostly she understands everything I "tell" her. I haven't really thought about how expressive our actions, posture and facial expressions are until I need to use them as my only means of communication. So far we've made it to the grocery store, video store and library all without incident or words. Emma understands when it's time to go, where to sit down, what things she can keep and what she has to give back to me. Funny enough, she still understands from my face and shaking head when I'm saying "no" and "I love you." Probably because those are the two things she hears the most from me. Now that I have no words, I truly understand how much she is "listening" to everything I am telling her, with and without words. Truly something to think about.