Quiet Time

(Original here.)

The house is quiet.

The only sounds that stir me this morning are sleepy breathing across the hall, chirping birds outside my window, and the heavy, distant rumbling of trucks making their early rounds.

Soon enough, the house will wake. It will be filled with shouts and laughter, the ping-ring of video games, and the soft whoosh of the refrigerator door being opened--again and again. There will be arguments and footsteps and, most likely, the bang of toys hitting walls. This is the symphony of my life--the song I've learned to love.

But, for now...

I can ponder and plan, alone with my thoughts. I wonder about the future, both near and far. I pray for my children, especially those not here. I check my mental calendar, noting appointments and schedules.

But, mostly, I write. Stories run through my mind. I greet characters I love. They tell me about themselves, what they want to do, where they want to go. They whisper secrets in my ear and I am grateful for their trust. I hold onto their words desperately, so as not to lose them before I can write them down. They make me smile and sometimes they make me cry. I truly do love them, and, I daydream of the day when others love them, too.

I hear restless stirs, a cough. The day is about to begin.

Shhh...for now, it is quiet.