 Huuuuuuuuuu! My children love noise. Noise and chocolate. Whether they
blow whistles, bang drums, or sing at the top of their lungs, my
children feel they are only alive
Despite having one eye closed, I am addressed by my children, who have failed to take notice of my weary state.
“We want chocolate,” they pounce on me as I attempt to lift the second
eyelid. It is 8 a.m and I’ve overslept. My kids have been up for an
hour and my husband made himself scarce the moment he heard my slippers
tap-tap down the stairs.
“Did you hear that?” I call up the stairwell. I hear a water faucet
turn on. How convenient, I think. He suddenly can’t understand a word I
am saying.
“We feel chocolate will help us,” my five-year-old reasons, batting her
baby blues and sensing victory. Lunging for the coffee machine, I buy a
few minutes by mumbling something about “We’ll see” under my breath. My
second lid has now lifted, and I can almost see clearly. The children
patiently wait in the kitchen doorway. As the aroma of percolating
coffee finds its way to my nose, I can feel the neurons in my brain
applaud. Two more minutes to full alert status, the neurons natter. I
shuffle over to the table, but my children block my way there.
“Chocolate?” my three-year-old says in a tone which implies he will make my life a living hell if I don’t comply.
Turning around, I open the cupboard door and pull out the coco puffs
they so adore. Listening to the tinkling sound of the chocolate balls
as they dance in the bowl, I hear something else.
Silence.
Once the sugar has kicked into full gear, however, the preceeding silence becomes the calm before the storm.
“Where’s my whistle?” my daughter rhetorically asks, reaching for her
lime green gumball machine toy and blowing as hard as she can. I bought
five minutes of silence in exchange for a full day of musical fun. Do
you have any whistle blowers in your house?
 Christine Louise Hohlbaum
Contributing Writer & Editor
www.DiaryofaMother.com
American author of Diary of a Mother: Parenting Stories and Other Stuff
and SAHM I Am: Tales of a Stay-at-Home Mom in Europe (2005), has been
published in hundreds of publications.
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