Silence

McKid went back to preschool on Monday. She is going back to the same place she went last year, but with a difference: Last year she went on MWF, this year we made the decision to put her in 5 days a week.

That was a difficult decision. Three seems young (to me) to be in 5 day a week preschool. But McKid's mom and I decided to do it for several reasons. #1, she asked to go to school every single day last year. She was disappointed on Tuesday/Thursdays when she had to stay with MamaT. Oh, she got over it; but she was only mollified by me telling her she would get to go "tomorrow." #2, McKid is a high-energy, high-need child. She is all that and a shot of whipped cream with a cherry! The structure that this wonderful place has established keeps her moving right along all day--which suits her personality. And big #3, we can move her back down to 3 days a week if it doesn't work out.

So, McKid is now at preschool from 8:45 to 2:45 every day. After a noisy summer of dogs barking, videos playing, kid feet pounding the wooden floors of my house, there is quiet.

And a quiet made even more noticeable because for long stretches of that time, Zteen is at work.

I'm wandering around the house by myself! I'm listening to the music I choose. And I'm not listening to "Dorofy" (The Wizard of Oz) for the 100th time!

And I'm taking most of this week to luxuriate in the quiet. I even told PapaC that I was going to just laze around a bit--read all I want, crochet on some afghans, snooze on the couch. Next week will be time enough to fill up the days with all the things I have to do. There'll be time to work on my parish accounting stuff, and actually maybe get caught up! There'll be time to clean out my closets, a chore long overdue. There'll be time to visit more with my mom. There may even be time to volunteer as a reader in a classroom at our friend BoyC's school--a low income school that could use a few more volunteers. Who knows?

But this week? I'm listening to the sounds of silence.