3/21/13 Meow!

Gabriel has taken on this awful habit of "meowing" all the time. He enters a room and makes a high-pitched "meow" sound, answers questions with it, responds to requests with it, and just does it constantly. It's incredibly irritating.

Seems his new habit has struck a nerve at school too: I got a notice from his teacher that ALL the 5th-grade teachers have complained about his "meow" sounds: it distracts his "squad," makes him very annoying to interact with, and people are starting to worry that something's really wrong with him.

Gabriel has a long history of annoying his class with constant, repetitive, inappropriate sounds. In kindergarten, it was "POP goes the weasel!" and in 1st-3rd grades, it was the nonstop humming. He seemed to get a handle on it in 4th grade, but now his tendency to express whatever sounds are coursing through his head have a feline manifestation.

I talked to him at length about it, explaining that it wasn't just me being annoyed at his grating sounds -- now people are thinking there's really something wrong with him. I know there isn't, but I told him that he really, really, REALLY has to stop it. We shook on it....then I made fun of his floppy handshake, and he laughed and gave me the firm one of a young man.

Ironically, the real meow-makers are far far quieter, and much more judicious about the use of their vocalizations. The sound I hear the most from my squirmy shadow Meow-stache is, by far, purring.

3/21/13