The Dreaded Click

My daughter Lisse has a special ability. She is able to make a clicking sound about as loud as a bottlenose dolphin. Thankfully she doesn't click that fast or we would all be quite concerned about her genetics. However, this whole clicking thing is interesting to me and did I say loud? Oh yes.

It reminds me of my mom's whistle. When I was a kid it was understood that we were not to be any farther away from our mom than the distance her whistle could travel. In hindsight that was still too far to be away from mom considering her whistle could probably travel a mile! No kidding, she has a Lisse-like amazing ability to produce a whistle that you definitely want to wear hearing protection for should you be standing next to her. She blows out to whistle, which is something I have never been able to do, but my son Koen is very capable of. I'm beginning to think it's a genetic thing that skips generations like some twins. Oh, I might be onto something there.

So, back to the clicking. Recently Arie and I spent a nice evening together watching a movie. The time together was lovely and we desperately needed to unwind. The babies had been in bed a good, long time. We were able to watch the whole movie with no interruptions. I don't think we even had to stop for a potty break - a highly unusual accomplishment for us.

After the movie, we headed to our bedroom to turn in for the night. We brushed our teeth, did our potty business, then settled in for some much-needed rest. Both of us had our iPhones in hand for a short time, setting our alarm clocks, checking our e-mail one last time, etc. I even did a little reading of "In Praise of Stay-at-Home Moms" on my e-reader for a time before turning off my phone and setting it down next to the bed. Arie and I kissed each other good night, laid our heads down, and nestled into our comfy pillows. Not one whole minute went by, within which we'd not even begun to fully relax our muscles to allow for sleep and here it came. . .

Here is our exchange in those moments:

Audri: "Did you hear that?"
Arie: "Yep."
Audri: "Is that what I think it is?"
Arie: "Yep."
Audri: "Crap, she's wide awake!"
Arie: "Yeah."

(Those who don't really know my husband think this is his typical exchange. Lots of "yeahs" and "yeps". That's not really true for the record, but on this night it actually made for a little comic relief.)

We breathed a collective sigh.

So much for a good night's sleep. Arie had to be up early for work and I was on baby watch. The dreaded click had just indicated that I was not even close to being able to lie down. Dragging myself from the bed, I headed to Lisse's room to find her standing at her crib railing clicking like tomorrow had already come. She was already talking to me by the time I had her rail down and was lifting her from what should have been her sanctuary of slumber for at least another seven hours. I carried her to the living room where she was treated to a fresh one (a.k.a. diaper) and a cold one (a.k.a. bottle, not beer). Surprisingly, in spite of her initial bright-eyed, bushy-tailed appearance the clean diaper and soothing bottle zapped what was left of her energy. I would have bet you my next well-earned pedicure she was going to be up for a smooth hour at minimum. Imagine my relief when she was rubbing her eyes and back in bed in less than 20 minutes. Whew! Situation averted! It was time to finally hit the hay and as I was drifting into sleep I think I was actually praying that the dreaded click would not return.

Author's Note:
I understand now, ironically, that it was my mom who taught Lisse the "dreaded click." LOL Lisse also learned from Memere how to "whistle" for the dogs, only Lisse's whistle is more like a high-pitched, F sharp from the throat. LOL