Throughout our lives, I believe, people are on a constant path to find their voice. Watching your child find theirs is the most special experience a parent can witness. Here are some of the wonderful ways Andrew has made his voice known over the past 12 years.
3 months
Andrew found out he had a voice when he was three months old. When he began to verbalize sounds he would stare intently, and with great expression he would make the ooo and owww and ohhh sounds. In fact, when we went in for his intake meeting for daycare he had a lot to “say”.
As the teacher asked about his habits, I rested Andrew in a sitting position on top of a reading table in the Adath library. He looked intensely at the teacher and began to vocalize, as the teacher and I talked about his habits.
You would have thought he was running the conversation. He locked eyes with the teacher, and for all I know he was trying to tell her…“I take two naps a day, I prefer to swing for at least a half hour, I’m not eating solids, but I do watch my parents when they eat at our kitchen table. I like to have books read to me. Snuggles and hugs are a must.” When we were finally able to finish up the meeting, he stopped as well.
24 months
Andrew had a lot of ear infections that led to having tubes put in his ears and the removal of both his tonsils and adnoids. Because of this, his speech was a little delayed and we worked with a speech therapist to help clear up his language. This didn’t stop him from talking, but it did make it hard for him to be understood. Remarkably, after about a year of relearning sounds, he began to deliver proper pronunciations. He was determined, you could see it in his intense concentration during the classes. He’s been going a mile a minute ever since.
8 years old
Andrew had the unique opportunity in Denver to lead a prayer during our cousin Ryan's Bar Mitzvah. The prayer was delivered responsively and required Andrew to learn how to pronounce, read and sing quite a few lines in Hebrew. Once again, Andrew was diligent. He listened to the tape that was provided in advance of the event. He worked with our dear friend and Hebrew teacher, Heidi Roston, to read the words and sing the melody. And when he got up to lead, everyone remarked how well he did, and that he sounded like a little sicken (birdie in Yiddish). At 8 he understood this was important and he worked hard to master the task.
12 almost 13 years old
Today, Andrew's voice is going through a lot of changes. What used to be a soft, yet loud, squeak, is now a low, still loud, baratone. When he calls home, or talks with his friends or practices his parsha, I find myself taking a double take. Yep, that's my kid, who doesn't sound too much like a kid any more.
Some things don't change, though. He continues to make himself heard, whether that's singing a song during his middle school play, or groaning when he doesn't want to do his homework. He's still intent with his words, whether that's engaging in a lively debate about whether Wisconsin will make it to the Rose Bowl, or telling me a joke that puts me into a fit of giggles. He continues to be diligent, as he works to master the words in the Torah, Haftorah and D'var Torah (speech in English reflecting on what he read in Hebrew).
It's not for me to say when Andrew will find his voice, or what that voice will sound like. But, I will tell you that I love his accent. Within his voice today, I hear strength, compassion, irony at times, opinion, love and friendship.
"There is a voice inside of you, that whispers all day long, 'I feel this is right for me, I know that this is wrong.' No teacher, preacher, parent, friend ... or wise man can decide, what's right for you--just listen, to the voice that speaks inside." ~Shel Silverstein, "The Voice"
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