Wednesday, October 1, 2014
Crunch crunch crunch: leaves are starting to carpet the sidewalks. Tell us about your favourite autumnal sound.

I have the ears of a bat.

That is what I tell my kids when they are whispering secrets while they are supposed to be doing schoolwork.  I can hear whispers just as well as I can hear the singing, the talking, the yelling.

What I love to hear is The Gasp.

The Gasp when they see a new creature on Nautilus’ live camera.  I love when they have learned more about coconut crabs than I have.  I love hearing The Gasp from the next room over when they have discovered a new land in Minecraft.  I love witnessing The Gasp when they find a caterpillar crawling across the front sidewalk.

I heard The Gasp when we were at the mountains this weekend, and the kids saw a thunderstorm gestate in front of them; and I loved hearing The Gasp when we were all caught in a sincere rainstorm.  The Gasp happened when we rode a small train around a pond, littered with domestic geese itching to bite one of them in order to get their apples.  I heard it when we rode past apple orchards and blackberry patches, ooohing at the fresh berries just within reach: but be careful, because there are thorns.

The Gasp is my favorite sound in Autumn because it tells me that the magic of life is still alive in my children.  They are as awestruck by the changing of seasons and the shift in colors, as I am still.

When I hear The Gasp, it is listening to a breath of hope, for a mother.  My children can see the magic of the colors of life, the mysteries of nature and the utter delight of changes in life.  Every change is a new door of opportunity, and they are excited to swing the doors open and poke what they find inside.