Quiet

It's spring break here on the Hollins University campus, and everything is uncharacteristically quiet.  Ahh....I'm soaking it up.  It is much needed peace after a short family "vacation" to Great Wolf Lodge in Williamsburg.  I know it's ungrateful to complain about a vacation, but a four-hour trip to a water park with two kids under 6 who don't nap or sleep well and need constant interaction is not much of a break.  There are fights to referee, boo boos to kiss, questions to answer (and answer and answer...), and orders to issue (for their own well-being and safety...and for my mental health and stability).  There are meals to procure, which they won't like, won't eat, and will demand a snack exactly 14 minutes later.  The days are long, from their 6am awakening to their 10pm surrender to sleep, with no breaks in between.  And yet, memories are being made.

Like, this, a reminder of my greatest gifts, who have grown so much in their 6 and 4 years.  I'm certainly grateful for travel that doesn't involve diaper changes and feedings every two hours!

And, there was the opportunity to take them back to the College of William and Mary to show them where I studied and worked, and to even introduce them to my former boss.  It's hard to believe that almost 13 years have passed since my graduation.

I'm reminded more and more of what a gift this time truly is.  The battles of will show me what strong little people they're becoming, and that they have minds and needs of their own.

It's also cute and amusing when I'm not in the moment!  

I'm grateful for a job that allows me time off to do things with my family, and for the financial resources to do so (mainly due to my husband's income, so thanks, honey!).  I know a time will come when the simple pleasures that delight them the most (bunk beds!) will not elicit excitement, and a time when they won't be as thrilled to spend EVERY.SINGLE.SECOND of their free time with us.  I know I will at least miss the snuggles and the delighted giggles.  I will miss the adorable smile with two missing teeth, and the feel of tiny hands cupping my face.  

And when they finally leave the house (and not just threaten to daily, as is Brady's new thing), I will be facing a new and uncertain world of quiet that I'm sure I will face unprepared.

So for now, I soak up the quiet, and then I'll return home to the loud chaos where my heart resides.