Monday, March 05, 2012

Who Needs Paris?

Everyone's asleep but me.  Oh, blessed quiet!

My Rachel attends art lessons taught by a woman who is the German grandmotherly type.  "I try not to chastise the children too much," she told me in her Teutonic accent the first day of class.  Oh, chastise away, m'lady; no reason that I should have to be the only one to do that. 

So I take Rachel and her friend to art class each week (leaving Brian to play with the friend's brothers); and then, for 2 hours, I do errands (library, Target, post office) with Susie in tow. 

I don't know whether I have ever touched on this subject, but Susie has the almost supernatural ability to produce continuous sound.  Her voice resonates beautifully and is quite pleasant to listen to, but still...she talks and sings NON-STOP.  2 hours, every Tuesday, she has me all to herself and she is vocalizing the entire time.  It's impressive.

And then, a couple of weeks ago, the art teacher said, "You know, a space has opened up in this class.  I think Susie's old enough to try it."

People, I didn't ask, "How much?"  I didn't say, "Gee, let me think about it" or even "Let me talk to Susie."  Before you could say "oil-based pastels," I had Susie sitting in front of a box of paints and I was heading back out to my car.

Full-body bliss --  that is the feeling that descended upon me as I sat in my unexpectedly quiet car.  It was as if every muscle - nay, every last fiber - of my being unclenched itself as I sank into that blessed silence.  2 hours later, I returned to the art studio a changed woman - restored, refreshed, transcendent.

That feeling, of course, lasted not 5 minutes once everyone was back in the car...but, you know, that's okay.   Now I can handle the bickering and the singing and the whining for food. 

Because I'll always have Tuesdays.

[Paint palette image: Ithan Elementary School]

14 comments:

  1. That was how I used to feel about the 2 & 1/2 hours I had on a Wednesday when all my 6 children were safely in the care of others.

    Now that they all go to school I get 5 hours each day to myself but somehow it's not quite the same as I race around trying to get all the housework and errands done before school pickup time. But at least I can do it all in relative peace and quiet, I suppose.

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  2. God bless Tuesdays!

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  3. I have Tuesdays and Thursdays from 12:30-2 when all the kids are in school and the house is quiet. It's wonderful. Next year my youngest will be in Kindergarten and I'm sure I'll miss them, but the quiet will be heavenly.

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  4. The good thing about this is that you have a finely developed ability to TUNE THINGS OUT! If there is one thing raising four children has done to help me in the work world, this is it. I can function extremely well with all sorts of commotion going on about me.

    And I love being alone with the quiet, something I never realized how much I enjoy.

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  5. How lovely to enjoy that sweet sweet sound of silence.

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  6. So, does it make it better or worse that you come crashing back to reality after your 2 hours of bliss and quiet??? If you know what I mean.....is it still worth it?

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  7. My youngest can talk non stop about Pokemon or whatever. I just uh huh and yeah so many times I have no idea what the hell he is talking about.

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  8. I have two like that, the two youngest. (I can spend an hour in the car with the oldest and never hear his voice--he brings a book, or he thinks.) When my middle complains about the youngest talking his ear off I just laugh at him. Hello, Pot. Meet Kettle.

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  9. There's nothing like two hours alone in Target to steel you for whatever else the day may bring! ENJOY!

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  10. When my daughter was a preschooler, she never stopped talking from the moment she opened her eyes in the morning until she went to bed at night. I can remember innumerable afternoons waiting with ringing ears for her father to return from work so HE could listen to her while I hid in the bathroom for a few minutes to give my ears a rest! Twenty years later, it doesn't happen as often, but she still retains the ability to make my ears ring from her continual chatter. I love listening to her, but it does boggle the mind that she can talk for so long without pause!

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  11. I can't believe you and I started at roughly the same time and I am almost done! You are a strong woman, I admire your fortitude.

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    1. I have a friend the same age as me with 4 kids. Her youngest was born within a week of my oldest. I'm insanely jealous

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  12. Ohhh, I envy you... You actually get time with NO CHILDREN? At all? AND they're not watching TV? Ohhh...

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