Silence is not always Golden

There are two types of 'silence'... But until you are a parent, or spend a significant amount of time with small humanoids, you have the fortune of not having the awareness of such a thing. As a parent or work with children wonder, you know exactly what I'm talking about; Silence vs. Quiet.

Silence, something that is experienced at libraries, book stores, confessionals and for some reason at post offices, is a reprieve from the regular world when things grow too hectic and a small break is needed. It is this type of silence that S@HMs (and stay at home dads) crave... when the last nerve has been strummed and the wave of insanity is about to break.

Silence's cousin Quiet, on the other hand, is feared and dreaded by parents, young and old alike. He takes a little bit of time to recognize, and even longer to judge. In reality though, every person knows Quiet, they met him long ago when they themselves were young. But they know Quiet as a rambunctious, fun and gleeful friend. Sadly as time goes by, as the child grows older he forgets about Quiet. Quiet, recognizing that he's lost his friend goes dormant and evolves... and looks for another friend.

He found him in your offspring.

Every time you stop, listen and whisper to yourself "What are they up to?" you can be sure that Quiet has returned. He first reappeared when you carpet caterpillar began putting foreign objects in his mouth. When the ONE outlet you failed to put the child lock on was discovered, or the lone exposed lamp cord was chewed upon with glee.

A favorite activity Quiet likes to introduce your child to is the magic of unraveling (and if you dear parent are REALLY lucky, flushing) an entire roll of two-ply toilet paper. Another is discovering and exploring the contents of each and every container in your refrigerator on your newly mopped kitchen floor. Yes... this is the influence of the dreaded Quiet.

Quiet visited our house one day when JB found a wayward chunk of sidewalk chalk. She and Quiet came to the conclusion that mama's car was in dire need of embellishment. And embellish they did... JB, Quiet and the chalk.

Quiet met Silence when mama was presented with said embellished car.

Thankfully Reason took over and by some small miracle, the car survived unscathed. It was at that moment I realized just how much a member of the family Quiet had become... And we certainly don't ask "What next?" because THAT is just asking for trouble.