On most days, I am greeted by my children’s noise before I even see their sweet little faces. Starting first thing in the morning, I’m awoken by shrieking, whining, or fighting. As far as alarm clocks go, my precious children take the cake for reliability and innovation when it comes to rousing the house with the most noise possible. This clamor sets the tone for the day — a tone that is simultaneously ever-present as a steady background din and jolts through the body of the listener like an electric current. This unbearable loudness continues throughout the day, and on many occasions, throughout the night as well. In the store, while I’m on the phone, in pretty much any situation where they’re awake and within earshot. They scream when they’re happy, when they’re mad, when they’re excited, and as a primal way of fun and communication. Then there's the whining, the fighting, and the incessant questions. At the center of it all, most of the daily challenges that plague me as a mother are rooted in noise.