Stop Chewing In My Ear

I am in the kitchen with Aaron as he is eating tomato soup and drinking milk. LOUDLY. He doesn't even realize it, and he hasn't caught on to the "looks" I am giving him. I can hear every single swallow, every scrape of the spoon, every swoosh of food in his mouth. Thank goodness we are out of crackers.

He just burped. LOUDLY.

My family is very aware of how I weird I am about this. I have always been this way and I don't really know why. I just can't stand the sounds of eating and drinking. I am just so aware of it. I did see a recent Reader's Digest article about whether or not certain things we do make us normal or not, and being bothered by food sounds was the one thing it addressed. Apparently, this is not normal.

Big surprise there.

I remember being fairly little and sitting at the table while my mom was eating cereal. Every couple of bites, she'd stir it to mix the sugar in off the bottom of the bowl. Then she'd spoon it in and chew, swallow and repeat. I thought I was going to have to go knock the bowl out of her hands and grab the spoon, running insanely from the house. The thing is, she wasn't eating rudely, or exceptionally loud; it's just me and how I hear it.

For the record, other than that burp, Aaron wasn't being rude either.

I don't think I could survive in a nursing home. All those people eating without teeth, slurping their food in...yikes! Or how about in countries where it is polite to slurp? I would have to be taken away by the men in white coats.

Sometimes my girls will be eating and come over to where I am doing something and look over my shoulder, chewing all the while. All it takes is one look from me and they know to back away. I know I can't ask them to let their pretzels or chips get soggy before crunching, but at least they can crunch more than 2 inches away from my over-sensitive eardrums.

You know how some people don't like the sound of fingernails on the chalkboard? This is like that for me. I wish this was a part of me that was different. I don't like being sensitive to the sounds of people enjoying their food. I don't want people to feel like they can't eat around me.

And really, I have learned to be okay with it most of the time. But there are days, especially if I am already stressing about something, that the sounds seem amplified. Most days though, I am okay.

We all have quirks. We all have oddities that make us unique. I guess I just need to accept that this is mine; this is how I was created. Odd or not, I am His workmanship, created by Him. (As are all the loud chewers around me!)

Psalm 139:14
“I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well.” (KJV)


Ephesians 4:10

For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

I love that God knew all my quirks, created me that way, and loves me. There may be things about me that "bug" God, but He loves me unconditionally. That's the example I need to follow, especially for the people who rub me the wrong way. Or chew gum in my ear. 

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Love,

Dianne