So many days I crave quiet. My children are not quiet. Never. They even talk in their sleep. The dog? Soooo not quiet. She barks so much, that her nickname is barks-a-lot. I crave it. Quiet.  I wish for days of quiet in a row. I wish for days where I don’t have to pick up toys, clothes, yell at kids for leaving skates and cars and balls on the stairs. I sometimes wish for days where I don’t have to argue with kids to brush their teeth, beg them to eat just one more dang bite, explain why one must sleep at night. Yet here I sit, on my third day of fifteen with no kids and I’m wanting noise. Even the dog is gone, on a two week trial period at my ex’s house.

I haven’t tripped over a toy car in days. I haven’t stepped on a Littlest Pet Shop Death Trap in days. My wii remotes are next to the wii, my tv remotes on my coffee table. My couch pillows are all on my couch. There isn’t a single sippy cup on my bedside table. I Haven’t broken up a fight in days. There are no shoes to locate. No tiny underwears in the floor of the kitchen. I haven’t walked into the bathroom to see a single unflushed toilet in days. Haven’t heard my son scream, mine do it!!!!!

It’s too quiet though. Strange the things you miss.

They are having a blast. Almost too much fun to really want to talk to me. The phone goes from kid to kid in minutes flat, so they can get back to whatever they doing. Two weeks of being spoiled by grandparents. Two weeks of non-stop pool time. Of amusement parks and treats and the entire content of Target purchased for their benefit.

I remember weeks spent with my grandparents when I was a kid. Every summer, we’d go for three weeks. Grandparent time. I loved it. I always had a blast. I doubt I wanted to spend much time on the phone with my mother either. I wanted this for my kids. I know I’m blessed to have it. I know my kids are blessed to have two sets of grandparents who want as much time with them as humanly possible.

I will go see a movie today. I may read an actual book, that doesn’t involve Harry Potter or Percy Jackson. I will work. I will sleep in. Next week I will go to BlogHer and then the following Saturday, they will be home. It really is okay.

It’s awfully quiet though.