Silent Night

We had an unusual occurrence in our house this weekend. Hubby and I actually spent the night alone, in our own home, with no kids. I think this is the first time that has happened for at least five years. We've left the kids to go out of town before, but never spent a night alone in our own home....at least not that I can remember.  But we've been changing diapers and dealing with 6am wakeup calls for five years straight...so it's possible my memory is not 100% accurate. 

Parents of older kids that go to sleep-overs or away to summer camp probably don't appreciate the novelty of being alone in your own home.  Maybe they dread the quiet that comes with kids flung far and wide, under the care of other responsible adults.  But you fellow parents of preschoolers and toddlers will feel me here....we enjoyed every last second of silence.  It was only about 15 hours of quiet, but who's counting? 

Here's what I did while we were home alone:

1.  I talked on the phone.  Nobody was interrupting me, or pulling hair to grab my attention away from the phone conversation.  There was no background noise at all.  I just talked and listened. Imagine that.

2.  I cooked dinner.  There we no kids to "help" me, or sibling disputes to referee in between scrubbing vegetables or setting the table.  I could take my time and enjoy the process. 

3.  We ate dinner.  Everyone ate without complaint or negotiating how much they had to eat to get a treat for dessert.  Nobody spilled their milk, spit out their food, or tossed silverware across the table. 

4.  We went to a concert featuring the Vanguard University Guitar Ensemble.  Great music.  We both sat through the entire concert without fidgeting, asking to use the restroom three times, or falling asleep. 

5.  I "slept in" until 7am.  The toddler of the house has an internal alarm that normally goes off between 5:30-6am.  Waking up naturally, without a little person demanding breakfast or a diaper change was divine. 

Here's what I didn't do during our brief parental hiatus:

1.  Change a diaper

2.  Say the words "No" or "Stop" 15 times in a five minute period.

3.  Pack up a diaper bag or prep snacks before we left the house.

4.  Listen to Laurie Berkner or any other music geared for the 0-5 set.

5.  Play Cootie, Candy Land, or Princess Bingo.

Truth be told, I did scroll through the photos on my phone once just to remind myself how cute and loveable my kids really are.  But beyond that, we just enjoyed the silence and basked in the awesomeness that is uninterrupted adult-only time.

In between conversations about the kids, that is.



Editors Note:  I was going to insert a cute photo of crickets here, to reinforce my theme of quiet.  You know, "So silent we heard crickets chirping?"  Well, it turns out that crickets are kind of ugly.  (Trust me.  Do a Google search for cricket images if you insist.)  So you'll just have to make up your own mental image this time.  Sorry for the inconvenience.