Wednesday 22 October 2008

Quiet! Quiet! Quiet!

My life is anything but quiet. And apparently that theme has been a strong "blog" issue of late. Right now, I am sitting on the bed of my 2 year old (ensuring he stays in bed) who is trying to "sing" through breathing through his nose with force, my 18 month old is sitting up chattering away desperate to get my attention so that he'll have an audience. And it's bed time. A time when life should be quiet.

With all this talk of quiet time it has caused me to take notice of how un-quiet my life is. Now, as I understand it, it is a side effect of having young children. I never realized until after having the boys how much I enjoyed moments of silence. So much so, that if it finally does get quiet I get irritated if the phone rings or my husband even asks me a simple question. I would love to have some "quiet time" but I probably would use it to read a book without being interrupted.

Quiet....it seems such a 'far away' concept at this point. If I could keep the two year old from 'talking' at a low level scream, and get the 18 month old to actually take a nap maybe, just maybe I might encounter a moment...

7 comments:

Edie said...

Aw you poor thing. I have always been one to love quiet time, A LOT. With little ones around I found that the main time I could get quiet time was after everyone had gone to bed.

Karen Hossink said...

Oh, Valerie,
I hear you loud and clear on this one. (In spite of all the noise, I hear you!!!) I don't know how long it will be until the times around you are quiet again, but I do know that God will remain close to you, and He can hear you through the noise, too.
Keep your eyes fixed upon Him, dear sister!

Kelly said...

I blogged about this today too. Naptime was always a favorite time for me when my kids were little. Hoping you get some quiet and peace soon.

My ADHD Me said...

I agree and feel for you!
It does get better when the kids go to school full time.

On another note, I think I told you I ordered that book you mentioned, Absolutely Organized, A Mom's Guide to a No-Stress Schedule and Clutter-Free Home. I received it the other day and have been reading it.

Her idea's are perfect..IF you live in a perfect world, with perfect children and a perfect husband. OK, I'm being a little hard on her and some of the ideas are helpful but a lot of it seems unrealistic to me.
Example:

New Baby,

6 AM Wake up baby and feed him.
8 AM Put baby back to sleep, darken room. (oh yeah, that always worked for me)
10 AM Wake and feed baby.
12 PM Put baby back to bed and again darken room.
2 pm Wake and feed baby
4 PM Put baby back to bed in darkened room.
6 PM Wake and feed baby
8 PM Put baby back to bed after his bath
10 PM Wake and feed baby
2 AM Feed baby if he wakes up, otherwise let him sleep. (feed in darkened room)

Wow, I wish I had known how easy it was when my kids were babies....yes, there is a bit of sarcasm there.

She also has tips on storage, clutter, paper piles, to-d0 lists, and prioritizing. And yes, some of it is helpful, but most is common sense.

Also, the storage and de-cluttering part is written more for if you live in a huge house with gloriously large closets etc.

A better idea for organizing, at least in my opinion, is a website www.flylady.com. It's a little "cheezy" but when I stick to her plan, it really does work. She does send out alot of emails but tells you up front that when you are just starting to delete most of them and work your way up. Anyway, check it out if you want. Also, it's free.

My ADHD Me said...

Wow, that last commenter was LONG WINDED!!

My ADHD Me said...

Yes, it's me again. A quick note about the flylady website. I opened a separate email account just for that. That way, it's easier to deal with all the emails in one place. And easier to delete as many as you want.

OK, I'm done now....really

Sue J. said...

Oh, Valerie! I feel your pain here, absolutely..... I used to be a disc jockey. I played music all the time; often loudly. Then, I had kids who could be louder than the music and never wanted to listen to what I listen to anyway. And they talk all day!

I never turn on the radio any more. I don't watch TV during the day. And, yeah, sometimes the humming of my kitchen appliances is enough to send me to another room.

I would love to take a fall wilderness hike with my hubby!

Quiet is not something you can easily arrange to have when you need it. Prayers that God will fill your space for quiet in His way, so that you can be whole!