My husband is a whistler. He can do clear bird calls, or loud, attention-getting whistles through cupped hands. I often hear him whistling tunes as he works. Early in our relationship, he started using a particular bird-like whistle with four short notes to get my attention when we were separated or in a crowd.

Over the years, it has been useful–the whole family has learned that when we hear that little tune, dad is nearby. It’s a beacon sound.

I whistled the call now as I was thinking about it. My quiet, breathy version doesn’t really sound like my husband’s crisp, strong whistle, but the dog still went crazy. He picked up his tennis ball and his chew toy to greet him, whining excitedly by the door. When there were no footsteps, he went to the front window. He heard the whistle; dad must be home.

We are conditioned to stop and look for him when we hear that–even the dog knows it. We didn’t plan to use the homing whistle. It just happened–I don’t really remember how it started. It just worked. Things like this are better when they aren’t planned, when they develop naturally from a need and a response.

Over the years, there have been countless situations when we got separated and needed to gather everybody together, or when we planned to meet and were trying to find each other. Sporting events, grocery stores, city streets, airports, Disneyland–anywhere we were together, someone was bound to get separated.

It’s comforting to hear the familiar sound and know that we are close to finding each other. It doesn’t feel like a summons or an alarm, like the school bell that signals the end of recess. It’s a happy, friendly sound, drawing us in.

Dad’s whistle can be heard above crowd noise or traffic, and over a distance. It’s not so loud or piercing that it’s startling or out of place, but I do notice people looking over when they hear it. Only once have I heard someone else use the same tune. When I heard it, I stopped to look around for my husband, and was surprised to see another family responding to the sound. I was surprised–how did they come up with the same one?–but I felt a camaraderie with them.

We spent many years gathering the family out of the crowd, whistling into the busyness to bring us all back together. Now we are seldom all under the same roof; I wish it was still that easy, to call them home to us with those four little notes.