The Five Senses

My family is a very sensory family.

Katie bear is the ears of our family. She moves and grooves to just about any sound (her fave now is “Bad Romance” but she sings it “Bad Fro-mance.” I chose not to touch that with a ten foot pole but can you just imagine what a bad Fro-mance might be?) K-bear also has a special affinity to hearing when I lower myself down onto a couch, the dinner table or for a quick shut-eye in my room to which she screams out that she is hungry, thirsty, etc.

Ava bear is definitely our touch fiend. This child…all you have to do is sit her on your lap and run your fingertip around her face, on her arms, on her legs, on her hands and she becomes puddy. I mean it. She goes into this little trance where she totally focuses on the sensation and will not move an inch. It’s the coolest thing until you stop. She tries to duplicate it by running her fingers up and down her legs and gets frustrated when it’s not the same sensation. She also expresses her touchy-feely thing in other ways by tackling her sister….biting her sister….you get the idea.

And then there is a Papa Bear. He’s a taste man. He has this uncanny ability to taste if something is not made with full fat. If I even put low fat cheese NEXT to the chicken cordon bleu pan, he instantly asks, “This isn’t healthy, is it?” To his credit, his father was a chef who still cooks with bacon fat and gets so pissed whenever I discard of any grease or lard.

Whereas, me? I like to say I have heightened and weakened every sense but I don't think it counts if it's been by choice. I’ve always been a great listener which is why I went into the mental health field but two children who break noise barriers with just a single screech have taught me to lower my mental hearing aid a few octaves. I appreciate delicious scents (Yankee Candle’s pumpkin buttercream scent is my new fave) but 4.5 years of pretending “I didn’t smell that she pooped” weakened that ability. I have also sharpened my taste buds to enjoy the full-fat food introduced by my in-laws but have made to turn off all taste buds when eating the foods my blood work tells me I need to eat. I’ve always been an astute people watcher but have turned off the ability to see clutter and mess. As for the touching? Well, I'm baking my 3rd child, have at least 2 creatures pressed against me at all times (see the Throne room post) and turn into playdoh under a good hand massage. What do you think?