All Mommies and Daddies Are Deaf
Inside the house, Cathy believed, all mommies and daddies were deaf and used their hands to talk. Outside, they could all hear and used their voices to communicate. It wasn’t that hard for the 4 year old to figure out.
When they were inside, she would sit and watch her parents and their friends signing to each other. Their fingers flowed smoothly from one picture in the air to another. Cathy was spellbound by not only the beauty but the rapid movements, the clicks and snaps of the fingers and the mouths. No one said anything.
Sometimes Cathy wanted to be deaf and sign too. She would drag her little brother, Mikey, away from what he was doing and make him sit across from her. They would make movements with their hands. When they did this, the adults would look over and smile indulgently.
It was different outside. Cathy’s parents used their mouths to talk to her anytime they wanted to communicate. They never used their hands to talk when they were outside. They used their mouths to all the relatives, friends and neighbors.
That’s how it is in everybody’s house, the little girl thought.
Once in a while, she would notice her mother or father using a hand to say something. That didn’t happen often because they didn’t lift their hands like they usually did inside. The hand would remain at the side, moving very slightly. It was like a secret and no one else was supposed to guess.
There was a parade through town one hot summer day. Cathy, Mikey and their parents stood alongside Main Street watching the high school band march down the street. Cathy’s Uncle Tom stood next to her. They’d come across Uncle Tom and Aunt Mary just before the parade started and now they were all together.
This was one of the days that Cathy noticed her father make a very small sign to her mother. Cathy copied it as best as she could.
Suddenly, Uncle Tom asked sharply, “What are you doing? Stop that!”
Cathy dropped her hand, embarrassed that she’d been caught. Her parents looked over and their faces went red. She wondered what was wrong with using her hands outside. She put her hands behind her back so she wouldn’t forget not to use them. She watched the next band beginning to march by and quickly became caught up in the celebration again.
