Can You Hear It?

I have adjusted almost flawlessly to saying nothing while working.  There have been a few slip ups. A few laughs, a few "oh!"s.
Being quiet is just natural now.  It's fun to interact by saying nothing.
Most times, the guests do the speaking for us,
sometimes it's our attendant,
maybe even a chatty PhotoPass.

There are those interactions when the guest doesn't say anyting at all. It's rare, but not a big deal to us performers.

Yesterday, while I was friends with Minnie at Magic Kingdom, a cute little girl walked up to us holding a Mickey Mouse doll that was almost the same size as her. She started pointing at the doll's nose, then to Mickey's nose, and did the same thing with the ears and buttons. Then she pointed at the doll's yellow shoes and looked super confused with Mickey's black shoes.  My Mickey scratched his head and looked at his shoes, that was when I jumped up with my hand in the air and pointed to my yellow heels. The girl smiled, and we jestured to have her stand and take a picture with us.  Keep in mind this entire interaction was silent.

We get her into position, and I finally look up to the parents. This is when I notice the mom standing over in the corner ASLing up a storm. Then it dawns on me, "Oh my gosh! This sweet little girl is deaf!"  We take our pictures, and then I kneel down and throw the ASL sign for I Love You out there, and her face lights up! She returns the sign, and did something so sweet. She touched her ASL I Love You to mine, and then did the same to Mickey.

It was so incredibly sweet. Such an amazing experience.

Then, I kid you not, ten minutes later, we get a small boy with a Cochlear Implant. His mom and dad are also signing to him, though they are speaking to him as well. I did the I Love You sign with him, and he smiled and nodded.

It was such a great set, and it also made me realize how much I appreciate my hearing ability.

Have a Magical Day!
~Courtney