The Power of Voice.

I’m not really sure when I started thinking about this.  Maybe it was a few weeks ago when I told my husband how much I hated talking on the phone and he replied, “I know you do.  But sometimes I just need to hear your voice.”

I get it.  Hearing the voice of someone you love is powerful.  It is reassuring.  Comforting.  Unless of course you have nicknamed your kid Rainman because he keeps saying the same thing over and over and seems physically incapable of ever shutting up when we’re in the car.  Oh, yeah, I’m talking about you Crews.

But seriously…back to the voice.

At a birthday party last night, one of Teague’s friends came up to us.  Every time I’m around this kid I am just totally pulled in by his voice.  It’s kind of deep and totally adorable and I swear it just has this soothing quality to it.  He is such a chill kid and his voice mimics that.

On the other hand, my friend Jodi’s voice gets me riled up.  In a good way.  She has this animated inflection that makes me smile.  And when I read her texts, I read them just as she would say them.  It cracks me up.  And she also does the best impressions of other people’s voices when she tells stories.  I love it.

Then there are voices you would know anywhere and could even pick out of an enormous crowd.  I can always locate my mom anywhere in a store because I know how she clears her throat.  I feel like I could find her anywhere.  Even if I only heard her speak one syllable.

The flipside of this is that person you can’t stand or absolutely do NOT want to see, but you hear that voice somewhere nearby and it makes your skin crawl or your pores snap shut.  I hate that.  Thank goodness there aren’t many of those.

Another one of my favorite things about voices is the experience of watching animated films.  I adore trying to figure out who voices the characters.  And thank God for IMDB when I can’t.  But it’s kind of amazing that we become so familiar with the voices of people we don’t know that we can identify them with no other cues.

I also find it fascinating how one person can enjoy the sound of a singer’s voice and another can despise it.  Colin and I have this problem with Dave Grohl.  It doesn’t matter if Dave Grohl is talking or singing, I find his voice similar to nails on a chalkboard.  On the other hand, I’m obsessed with Robert Pattinson’s voice (yes, I am referring to the guy from Twilight).  I love his music, but Colin says he sounds like a dying cat.

Sometimes I sit around and wonder what it will be like when my boys’ voices change.  I think it will be pretty depressing (I know…so dramatic).  But I am a little curious about how they’ll sound when they’re all grown up.

For now, I will try to keep my own voice level and not yell when there’s chocolate milk all over the couch for the umpteenth time.  I’ll write down the words my kids flub and force myself to answer the phone even though I don’t like it.  After all, the voices that surround us won’t be around forever.  Now, if I could just say the same about the Foo Fighters.