In the beginning.......

A parent understands what a child does not say...

Ahhh..the secret language of a parent's love....the things it sees in a child's face, the way that they move and alas...the things that a child does not say. Pretty much....we are mind readers...uh huh.

I see this each day in my home. The home of many children from different upbringings...one where 'Mum' was everything and one that 'Dad' was everything. The communication can get quite boisterous in the 'Manor', but through it all, we are able to decifer the code like any connected parent with their child. It might have been that little 'snide' comment from an eleven year old girl...or perhaps that small gesture from an eight year old son...which tells us that something needs some attention. Somedays I feel like we live in a very loud home...where no one actually speaks their mind...its filled with 'stink eyes' and over dramatic shrugs from the upper half of the body. Dont let the noise fool you into thinking that we are not actually communicating. Funny though how most of the important communication happens in those stolen moments of peace right before bedtime, or in the checkout line at the grocery store. Heaven forbid we should attempt to sit at the dinner table and actually have a real constructive conversation!!! Nope....those moments are for budding in and tatelling! We actually have dinner as a family EACH and every night that all the kids are here. Yes, it is noisy and quite riotous actually, but its good...its rich and boy is it entertaining. Some come and discover.....only for us to note that they never return..ha ha ha

Really though...how do you know when one is really listening as just opposed to 'hearing' noise? You look for the gestures, for the eye contact and in our house...sometimes it's just the attitude that is bestowed...that's when you REALLY know that you have hit your target!