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Wait. That may not be the right word for it.
There is something about silence that makes the day feel like
it’s going on forever and while it’s not anxiety-driven, I do find that I’m a lot more fidgety and I need to find something to occupy my mind constantly,
which is usually checking social media.
This is something that is nothing new. I used to hate
working in class when we had to be silent. My mind would be half on what we
were meant to be doing and half on the clock waiting for the bell to ring.
The only time when I find silence is helpful is when I’ve
got writer's block or I’m reading. Otherwise, I have to have some form of noise
around me.
This whole thing is one of the reasons why I loved and still love being a nanny. Didn’t matter what was happening there was always some kind of noise happening.
Since having AJ and T going back to work, I’ve been
surrounded by silence. COVID-19 has made it nearly impossible for us to leave
the house and meet other Mum’s and babies in our area or visit my family.
Contact with other’s who have babies AJ’s age is done mainly on Facebook or
Instagram as a way to stay connected and not feel as if I’m completely
voiceless.
With that comes the fact that when T is at work, the house
is a lot quieter. Arlo and Daphne are napping throughout the day and AJ is not
exactly communicating in a way that I can fully understand, and even then, it’s
not constant. So, the house is often filled with silence.
I try and break that up by having the TV on but even that comes
with its drawbacks. While it helps to break the silence, it takes AJ’s
attention a lot and she focuses more on it than playing. Developmentally I also
know it’s not good for her to have a lot of screen time before the age of two
because it can be so overstimulating for her. Plus, we’re also limited to what
it appropriate for AJ to also watch, so any form of True Crime or fictional
crime is ruled out as I don’t want to expose her to that.
I’ve also tried just having music video’s playing on the TV
and as much as I enjoy exposing AJ to the music videos of the 90’s it has the same
attention-grabbing abilities and that’s not what I’m after.
So, with the TV being ruled out as a source, at least for
most of the day, I’ve been using other forms of media such as Spotify, YouTube,
Podcasts and Audiobooks.
Two of my favourite playlists on Spotify to have on in the
house are All Out 90’s and All Out 00’s. They’re filled with music that I grew
up listening to and it’s fun to dance around the kitchen as AJ is playing
listening to The Backstreet Boys and Brittney Spears. YouTube is also another
great place to get a random playlist of music. Once you’ve been listening to
music enough on there, they start giving you suggestions for music to listen to
and I now have rand playlists filled with everything from 90’s jams to movie
and Broadway soundtracks.
There are a couple of downsides to both of these platforms. If
you don’t have a premium membership on Spotify then your songs are broken up by
ads. The same happens with YouTube but another downside with it is that if you
turn your phone off then the music stops and unless your phone is charging it’s
a real battery drainer. Both have paid options that stop this but currently its
not in the budget.
Podcasts have always been something I’ve listened to for
years. They were something I listened to as a Live-In nanny when the kids were
sleeping and I was getting jobs done around the house and setting up activities
and once I transitioned to being Live-Out, they helped a lot with the commute
as sometimes at night I could be in the car for two hours or more.
During those times the majority of what I listened to was
True Crime. I’ve really limited the amount of that I listen or even watch as I
don’t want AJ exposed to the darkness of the world that way just yet. So, they’re
kept for when AJ is sleeping. Some of my favourites are Casefile, Criminology,
Canadian True Crime and Australian True Crime.
But my podcast listening isn’t strictly True Crime. I also
love things that are paranormal and I also love listening to Real Play
Podcasts, where people play games like DnD and tell a story that way. The
Adventure Zone and Astonishing Legends are great podcasts from both genres that
I listen to regularly and the Adventure Zone isn’t bad enough that I have to restrict it. I mean it does have swearing but I hold the view that AJ
is going to be exposed to it regardless and she’ll know that they’re not nice
to say and some people don’t like to hear them.
Finally, we have Audiobooks. I have always loved reading and
I’ve mentioned before that it’s something that T and I are trying to foster in
AJ and so far, it’s working. Audiobooks were something I used to used before I
discovered podcasts. They were great for the long six-hour drives from Sydney
to my parent’s house and still fuelled my love to read. These days my time to
read is limited, so having a book on during the day allows me to still be able
to read or hear the books written by my favourite authors or find something
new.
What is also fantastic is that most libraries in Australia
have an online library when you can borrow ebooks and audiobooks. It means that
whenever I finish a book I don’t have to wait until our next trip to the library
to get a new one, I can search through the catalogue on my phone and instantly
start listening to a new book.
So, while I still dislike silence, I have found ways to
combat them so it’s not constant anymore. There are still moments of silence,
like right now as I’m writing this, but it’s not as often as it once was.
What are some
of your favourite ways to break the silence when you’re at home?
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