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when a son's voice changes

When It’s Time to Change You’ve Got to Rearrange

I’ve saved voice messages from my son over the last several years. I wasn’t conscious why I’ve done so — space on my phone is limited so why keep mundane messages like “can I have a sleepover” when they are a dime a dozen?

I also saved a few voice messages from my daughter, but the urgency to do so was not as strong as it was with my son.

This is the Summer of the Voice Change

Now it makes sense why I felt compelled to save my son’s pre-pubescent voice digitally. His little boy voice is gone to me now, except for in these few recordings I hung on to.

There are fewer than three months between these two clips. My son is in the middle of the change now — his voice today isn’t the same as his voice yesterday.  And his voice tomorrow will again be new.

For now, as he continues his one-way trip into manhood, I’ll play documentarian and treasure the moments I’ve captured.

And laugh a little at this memory, which I never got to experience up close until now (I have no brothers).

(By the way, do you realize that Marcia — Maureen McCormick — turned 60 earlier this month!?)

Audio clips shared with Son’s blessing.

~~~~~

This post is part of #MicroblogMondays? Whazzat? A post that’s not too long. Head to Stirrup Queens to join the fun.

11 Responses

  1. Oh, my heart! Our boy went through the voice change some years back (he’s 19), and every now and then, his “down in the basement” tone still startles me. We have bunches of silly videos the kids recorded that I will keep forever, for much the same reasons as yourself.

    And yes, I saw that tidbit about Marcia floating around social media – holy cannoli, Batman! Where did the time go?

  2. I’m hanging onto videos and recordings for this same reason. As they grow, their voices changes. Especially with He-Beat. Those first words and gurgles sound different from him today. And I know that when the hormone-shift kicks in, it will be even more profound.

  3. How wonderful to have those earlier recordings (even if “earlier” is three months ago)! I am a compulsive voicemail saver. My dad leaves insane messages that I want to keep, but his voice changed forever ago. 🙂 I didn’t have brothers, but I do see students whose voices change (although it seems to happen earlier and earlier). What a sweet message the second one is! 🙂

  4. This is so bittersweet. I do a lot of video recordings — capturing them speaking about how they feel about something in the moment (interview-style) but I don’t have a lot of spontaneous, not-really-thinking-about-being-recorded moments. And I will want them after the voice change.

  5. 🙂

    I had a recording on an old phone of my daughter babbling in her crib (the kid would talk for literally 20 minutes at a time as an infant – no wonder I can never get her to shut up) and my husband destroyed the phone before I could figure out how to transfer that recording. Now I just have lots of video, which I usually watch with the sound off…but I’m glad I have it saved.

  6. I’m sure your son will thank you endlessly—perhaps for decades—for documenting (with audio no less) this proud time of his life. And you know that the second I read the title of this piece, I was already singing aloud: “Sha na na na na na na na . Sha na na na na” & picturing the Brady’s in their 70’s attire. xo

  7. I loved hearing the boys when their voices were young and high, and I also appreciated when their voices started to change. Just wait until you go to touch his legs and they are all hairy and man-like instead of young and soft. That’s when I started referring to each of them as a “man-child.” It’s a great reminder to cherish every day…because time really does go so fast!

  8. Thanks for the earworm, Lori! 😉 Between that and a commercial that uses the opening bars of “Sunshine Day,” I have Bradys running constantly through my head these days. 😉

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