Dr. Amy B Hollingsworth Berkhouse
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IT'S TOO LOUD IN HERE! How noise and confusion hurts my brain.

3/26/2014

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My son and I are in Texas (yeehaw!!!) this week to visit friends. We are staying at my kiddo's dad's house on a beautiful ranch.

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It's magnificent and gorgeous - all the white rock and hills and formations. Truly beautiful.

When we come back to the house after long days of exploring, I want to just relax. That's where the "problem" lies. My ex and I have very different perceptions of what is relaxing. Let me set the stage:

My ex grew up in poverty. Very nice people, but very poor. Five kids and two parents in a two bedroom house. Can you imagine all the noise? Dogs barking, TVs, kids screaming and playing. My ex grew up around a ton of noise. Therefore, as we sit here now, there are three TVs on in the house, there is music coming from a video on the laptop, my son is playing Netflix on the iPad, and I am hiding in the back bathroom. I have the fan on, to drown out the sounds.

I feel like I'm having a nervous breakdown. I'm actually shaking and grinding my teeth.

I grew up in a quiet household. The TV had a padlock on it, because my mom thought TV rotted your brain. My brother and I were avid readers. We would sit in the bathtub and read for hours. We would lay in our beds, under the covers, and read until we fell asleep at night. I used to spend hours a day in the woods, after school, silently building forts or enjoying nature.

I need quiet. My ex needs noise.

I don't know how to get away from all this yapping and shrieking and screaming and chaos. I love to go to work, where I can hide in silence and read alone.

It's hard for me, because I get so anxious and tend to freak out and be mean after ALL THIS NOISE makes me crazy. I tell both my ex and my son to BE QUIET PLEASE!!! At my house, I can control it. As much as a single mom of a six year old can control it.

Why can't everyone just be silent?

I know I'm being a bitch, but respecting my need for silence is not too much to ask. At least for an hour, while I try to nap or relax, can everyone shut the frock up?

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    Dr. Amy B. Hollingsworth

    Author

    Dr. Amy B Hollingsworth has worked in education for over 20 years. Most recently, she was a Learning Coach at the NIHF STEM School in Akron. She served as the Executive Director of Massillon Digital Academy. She was the District Technology Specialist at Massillon. She also was the Natural Science Biology Lab Coordinator at The University of Akron. She specializes in Biology Curriculum and Instruction, STEM education, and technology integration. She has written six lab manuals, and an interactive biology ebook. She has dedicated her life to teaching and learning, her children - Matthew, Lilly, and Joey, her husband Ryan, and her NewfiePoo Bailey.

    What's Amy Reading?

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