A quiet house

Over the weekend my wife and I puppy sat one of our kids. Our house is quiet. It has been quiet for two years now. This weekend it wasn’t and that brought back a flood of memories for me.

Sunday morning the puppy broke out of his kennel. He quietly crept up the stairs to our bedroom and sat next to the bed staring at me. I awoke to a happy puppy face at 6:30 am waiting patiently, but ready to start the day. It was a moment I have lived many, many times before.

My youngest child was like that, although she had a cuter puppy face. She was an early to bed, early to rise child. She is like that as an adult as well. Of all my children she was the one we never had to drag out of bed. When her feet hit the floor she was ready to start the day. It seemed that every Saturday and Sunday morning when I rolled over in bed she was there, smiling under a mop of blonde hair ready for Dad to walk downstairs with her to fix a bowl of cereal.

Having this puppy around reminded me of how our house used to be, namely loud. Sounds of doors slamming, the refrigerator opening and closing and opening and closing, feet stomping up the stairs then back down, and hearing “get out of my room” at least a hundred times a day. The sounds of a family.

When I woke up this morning our house was back to normal, our new normal of just two people and an old cat. Once again I was struck by how quiet it was, something fifteen years ago on a Saturday morning I would have paid a hundred dollars for. I would tell my kids, just let me lay here for ten more minutes. I was lucky to get five.

But this morning, as the alarm went off I got a lump in my throat just as I am right now typing these words for you. Those noises, those sounds were the sounds love. The television blaring, dishes rattling, bathroom doors slamming all bring life to home that would otherwise just be a house.

So for all you young parents out there, begging for just ten more minutes under the covers it will come soon enough, sooner than you can possibly imagine. Enjoy the chaos, the spilt milk, the slamming doors, the yelling, the screaming, the laughter, the sounds of a home filled with life. There are quiet days ahead of you and the sounds of those old memories are deafening.