I never once dreamed that I'd write that sentence.
Never.
We spent five childless years before our little munchkins joined us to double the size of our family. Days were long. Days were boring. Days were relaxing. Days were quiet. We even spent many evenings one winter making a comforter for our bed. And that 'we' does include Jason. He manned the sewing machine.
No more.
Days ceased being quiet nearly three years ago, and now if they are quiet I go searching to find out what the munchkins are doing. Quiet is not really a good thing these days. That could mean that I'll find them climbing the tv tower that's right outside our back door, or disassembling the tricycle (which happened last week), or taking the valve stem caps off the tires of the car (which happened a few weeks ago), or ripping pages out of books (Jack only, thankfully), or sneaking cookies off the counter.
But here's my question. Are our children the only ones who believe it is their responsibility to single-handedly use up the word quota for the entire community in any 24 hour period? Seriously. The only time that they aren't talking is when their mean old mom issues a 'fifteen minute (or thirty, or forty-five..whatever suits her fancy at the time) of complete silence' declaration.
It really doesn't matter if they have anyone to talk to or not. They each have multiple 'friends' that they call on their pretend cell phones several times a day. I took their real pretend cell phones away some time ago in an effort to stop the constant chatter, but that didn't exactly work. They went to the barn and found perfectly sized pieces of wood that they now use as phones. Joke was on me.
It doesn't really matter if they're doing jobs, playing with toys, mad, happy, sad, grouchy, etc. They still talk.
I know. I'd think there was a problem if they didn't and I'd wish that they did.
I've been told many times that someday I'll be thankful that they talk so much...it's hard to hide anything when every single little thing spews forth. I tell myself that on a daily basis.
I'm not complaining. Not really. I'm just curious if incessant chatter is a common thing among toddlers/preschoolers/school aged. And at what age, if ever, will the talking at least be about logical things rather than about the elephant that they saw in the garden? Obviously, imaginations work overtime in our household.
Right now? It's quiet here except for Jack rocking his baby. Of course, that requires some singing and he doesn't exactly get the '15 minutes of no talking' declaration. Addie is washing her dishes for the day and Will is cleaning the sink..his 'indoor chore' job for the day.
And, yes. It's 11:09 on Monday morning and the 'no talking' declaration has already been issued.
Mean old mom anyway.
5 comments:
We just took Petra's paci away and oh, my. Never knew the gal had so much to say!!! The silence Declaration sounds like a good plan....might be using that soon. Zaiden constantly talks to himself, but he does so mostly quietly-I am thankful for that!
Chatter is a good thing, although some days it does tend to drive me a bit nuts! Your munchkins are just so cute....
Yes. Iliya talks nonstop. Non. Stop. It never got to me until we had Max, who needs it a little quiet on occasion. You know, to process his environment and to have some nice interaction with mom and/or dad. Or maybe it's ME that needs the quiet in order to have the nice interactions. Whichever it is, I sometimes have to declare a 10 minute of silence rule, too. Otherwise, i'd go bonkers. :) So, you're not alone in your conflicted feelings about it - SO glad he's talking and right on track...also so frustrating at times! :)
You are definately not alone. My children are only quiet when they are doing something bad or asleep. Then sometimes they talk in their sleep. :) I love the idea of silance declaration we may have to try that!
Danyal
I'm smiling the whole time I am reading this. As you know we tried to bring more noise into our home and prayed for it as well but, its not coming!I say please let those children be children and cherish the noise they make! I'd love to have more and can't. Its just like those ones who can have children so easy, they don't realize how it feels to a mama who can't. Bring 'em on over sometime! I still know your doing a good job!
Ahh yes. I well remember mom-imposed quiet times. And Aldi's. I always made them be silent in there so I could THINK! They still remember that :). They would silently hold Honey buns or Fruit Fingers in front of my face and wait for my head to nod or shake!
And when DH and I would occasionally have a good "what should we be doing differently" talk about our children, requiring them to talk ONE AT A TIME was always at the top of the list. Alas, it never lasted for long. But I did arrive on the other side with my sanity intact (well, mostly) and you will too. Just be assured that time slots designated for quiet time is NOT hurting them! It is blessing them.
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