Signing Story #3

N = Narrator

S = Son

M = Mary/Mother

N: I come from a Deaf positive family. My aunt, uncle, cousin, they’re all Deaf. When we get

together and mingle, we make a lot of noise. What does noise mean to us? It’s no biggie, it’s

perfectly fine! We mingle regardless of sound!

N: The man I married is Deaf, but when our son was born we discovered he was hearing! We

thought, wow. As he grew up, he understood that he was hearing and what that meant. What a

learning process that was!

N: There’s a story that I like that I will tell you.

N: One day when my son had a group of his hearing friends over, they were sat around our table.

I was in the kitchen, cleaning the dishes and putting them away when my son came up to me and

asked:

S: Mom, are you ok?

M: Yes, I’m ok.

S: Are you mad?

M: No, I’m not mad.

S: Do you feel bad?

 M: No, I do not feel bad, why do you ask?

S: Well, my friends think that the noise your making means that your upset.

M: Your hearing. . .what do they mean by that?

S: You know how you slam the drawers and cabinets when you put stuff away? To them,

it means you’re mad I’m not helping.

M: Oh, I understand their feelings. Ok. That’s fine.

N: I thought about it and mulled it over. When his hearing friends came over again I watched

them for a while until finally I said, “Ok, time to finish cleaning the kitchen.”

N: I was very careful with cleaning and washing the dishes. If my old habits “meant” that I was

upset, then I would be more careful about it. Instead of putting an entire pile of dishes away, I

put them away one-at-a-time. Instead of putting the cups away in stacks, I gently placed them

down one-by-one. I felt like my feet were pulled out from under me, like I was dragging on!

N: Then my son comes up to me and asks:

S: Are you ok? Are you mad because you’ve been really quiet in here.

N: I felt stuck, like I just could win. I said to my son:

M: Nothing’s wrong. I tell you what, the next time your friends come over I won’t be in

the kitchen. No, I’m going to wait until they leave. THEN I will clean the kitchen. It’ll be easier

on me to finish up that way.