"You can learn many things from children. How much patience you have, for instance." – Franklin P. Jones

It is quiet right now.
Shhh…you can hear the birds chirping and the leaves in the afternoon breeze. Well, that is just a complete lie. If only I could hear the birds. Instead I can hear the construction work, but I am so immune to the grrrrrr -grrrrr, beep, beep, beep, clunk-clunk-clunk, grrr-grrr-grrrrr that it doesn't count. So let's just say it is a voice-free zone right now in my little world - which is close enough to peace and quiet. If you have ever been in my house, or know my family, it is hard to believe, right? If you don't personally know us, trust me when I say someone is always talking here and someone (little big man) is usually trying to talk over you at the same time. Our attempts at teaching social etiquette in regards to not interrupting and waiting your turn to speak keep failing us. I try to remind myself that most adults have not mastered the social etiquette, so "be patient, be persistent" is what I keep telling myself. Peace and quiet in our household is a treasure…if you can find it J.

Back to my current "voice-free" quiet time…
There is no "MooOOOOM!" or "Mom, did you know…" or "Mom, UVA has a lacrosse game against Duke today at 3:00" or "Mom, what are my options for a snack?" or "MoooOOM, come wipe me please" from my pre-schooler Kindergartner. And yes, he can wipe himself, but he still tries to find every reason to get out of it. Trust me, as soon as that little arm could reach back there he was wiping his own behind. And there I go side-tracking again.
Back to my "voice-free" quiet time…
There is no "Gorush bjail ciric da-da bajou" from the 14th month old who is finally napping in his crib instead of on me. I miss my extra long snuggle time along with some shut-eye for myself, but I love having two arms back!
Life is good. Or is it?
I longed for this quiet time – time to get stuff done, time to rejuvenate, time to think, time to have uninterrupted tea, time to work on my business, time to go to the bathroom…by myself….TIME.
So here I am sitting in my brown leather cigar chair, laptop on the lap, and my pink polka dot tea cup on the side table, thoroughly enjoying my time to think and write. Yet, I am so excited for that big yellow bus to pull into the neighborhood at 3:00. I miss his voice, his company, his questions, his infectious laugh….I miss my 5 year old buddy who thinks he is 19. It is an adjustment for me to go from 2 children to 1 for most of the day and I'm sure as this becomes more routine and isn't such a novel concept anymore, I won't even think twice about it. Until then, I will try my best to be patient with my little big man when he comes home grumpy from a long day knowing that he, too, is adjusting.
But…oh, how I love the quiet time. No tv, no music, no voices, just grrrr-grrrr-grrrrr, beep, beep, beep, clunk-clunk-clunk. J
UPDATE:
The above rambling was written at 2:18pm when I had the peace and quiet. Little big man came home, excited about school and ready to go play outside. We grabbed the football gear and headed out to the "green". 20 minutes later we are in the middle of an epic meltdown. Remember just a few sentences earlier when I said I would be patient with my grumpy man…well, that patience ran out during the meltdown. Tomorrow, I will really, really, really, really thoroughly enjoy my peace and quiet time and not think twice about it! I deserve it. And maybe, just maybe my patience will last a little bit longer. Let's keep our fingers crossed that it won't be needed.
Remember…time for yourself is just as important as doing everything for your kids. I've heard it a million times before, but until I experienced my peace and quiet today (even if it was only 35 minutes), I didn't truly realize how much I was missing out on. And when you do have that peace and quiet don't feel guilty about it! Easier said than done, right?! Tomorrow's quiet time = uninterrupted crafting time J.
Be inspired, get creative, and have fun!