Listening Above the Chatter

Crickets chirp lazily back and forth outside of our camping hut. It has been a full day. I’m plum tuckered out…You know, the kind of tired that makes it hard to answer the non-stop puzzling questions kids ask before bed.  In order to quiet the crew, and usher in stillness, a carefully chosen audio book fills the little room with a fantasy world to occupy their minds. But my well-laid plans don’t going so well. Lying on my back next to several little ones, I try to concentrate on the voice of the reader, but to no avail.

The beginning of the chapter stimulates my kids’ minds until they can no longer bear the anticipation and the inquiries begin:




“Why did the king do THAT?”

“Will they find each other?”

“Is his mother going to die?”

“MOOoooom!”

The questions cover the reader and no one can hear anything but the voices in the room—layered talking—cluttered words–unclear chatter.

Read the rest of the story HERE.