As I write this, it is 10:00 p.m. The kids are in bed. The Hubby is in bed. The Hubby thinks I should be in bed.
I clearly am not in bed.
There is no noise. The TV is off. No music. Even the dog is quiet. Nobody clamoring for my attention. I even turned my DS off, resisting the temptation to practice my MarioKart skills.
It's kind of nice.
It occurs to me that I don't get enough of this. At work, there is no quiet. I was off sick Monday and found out I am apparently indispensable to the smooth running of the development shop. I know this because the pile of work on my desk Tuesday morning was twice as big as it was on Friday, there were a slew of emails in my Inbox, and two voice mail messages (nobody calls me - nobody). At home there is no quiet. There is always a kid or a husband needing attention, always some chore to be done.
I've gotten fairly good about not letting the stress get to me. Stress is bad for people with MS. I'm working on letting it go. (Yes, yes, I know - it's a work in progress.)
Quiet always bothered me. I came from a noisy home as a child (four kids, what do you expect?). I'm a parent - too much quiet means that somebody is doing something he or she shouldn't. As a student in college, quiet meant I heard the arguments of the person in the next room, or the, um, nocturnal activities of the person above me just a little too well.
But right now, quiet is good. I can think, I can write. The Hubby and I embarked on a mission to go through our five boxes of books in the basement and get rid of the stuff we don't need. Along the way I found some stuff I've been looking for - some for quite a while.
I've always mourned/griped/bitched about the fact that I get no time to myself. I do not get to go out. I do not get to do things by myself. I do not get to write. There's always something else to be done.
But perhaps I've found the answer: Just wait until everyone goes to bed. Yeah, The Hubby will probably complain because he's in bed without me. Tough. This is my time. Time to drink some tea, surf the 'Net, maybe do a little creative work. Revel in the quiet.
Of course, I may also just go to bed.
