Silence

I hadn't realized how much I missed silence until I stumbled into some the other day. I was home by myself. (Well, not actually by myself as G was asleep upstairs.) I was cold so I turned off the AC. I then turned off the one in the kitchen as well.

All of a sudden it was quiet.

Do you know quiet? The hush of what you can't hear when you wake up and it has snowed overnight. The world is muted. Hushed. Quiet.

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Life with a three year old doesn't allow for much quiet. If she is awake, one of three things is most likely happening.

One; talking. She is very verbal. I love listening to the way her mind works, but it is pretty constant and even a mother can want for a mute or pause button.

Thankfully there is a two - she could be giggling. When you are three years old emotions are heightened. Laughter and giggles are plentiful and wonderful.

Unfortunately the flip side of those emotions is the final option- tears. Not just moisture seeping from the eyes. That would not be very three. Most tears come with complete melt downs. Those are the moments that number one doesn't seem so bad.

Now add to the three year old the background noise of our AC units. No, we don't have central air. Each room has its own wall-mounted air conditioner. When you live in the tropics, and it is stinking hot, AC is a life saver. The AC is always on.

The ACs in our home are not the quiet kind. (In fact I was enjoying the quiet so much that I turned off the one in our bedroom before I crawled into bed. Later, when it was getting too warm and I needed to turn it back on the sound could have been mistaken for a small plane starting up and heading down the runway.)

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So now I remember what quiet is. I remember that I like quiet. I remember that I can find quiet here, all I have to do is turn off the AC.

Choices.