Family Life

It was noisy. It’s always noisy.

Two of my boys were standing at the screen door when I got home from work. Both competing, with ever-increasing volume, to tell me what they’d done today. I finally managed to get a word in edgewise and asked if they could possibly let me in. It was cold outside. They quickly opened the door without missing a beat in the rapid (and loud) recital.

In those first moments when I arrive home, the trick is to discern the prevailing mood on the home front. Is everybody happy? Mostly happy with occasional storm clouds? Gloomy and depressed? Outright war? Contented and quiet? (Don’t laugh–it happens.) The goal is to find out who needs the most attention, who needs the most diplomacy, and who can be safely ignored. That last one is an important part of the equation, because it’s impossible to give full attention to everybody within three seconds of stepping in the door. Figure it out right, and domestic harmony reigns. Anything for a quiet life, as Grandpa would say.

Today’s mood was simple: Debbie was engrossed in preparing supper, so she was taken care of. Check. Micah was asleep in his bed. Check. That left Daniel and Joel, bouncing up and down with energy. And noise. I begged for a moment to take off my boots. Joel immediately went into a sulk, because this wasn’t part of his plan. Aha! So it’s attention for Daniel, diplomacy for Joel. In other words, Daniel was perfectly happy as long as I was paying him some attention, albeit intermittent. Joel needed to be handled with care. He had specific requests: Pick me up. Living room. He was happy as long as he got me on his terms.

The state of continuous noise, well, continued. Right about the time when I was reflecting how amazing it was that Micah could sleep through all this racket, he woke up. I went to pick him up out of bed. I had to explain diplomatically to Joel how I’d be right back and return to the Living Room (as per his request). Once back with the baby, I had to try and juggle a sleepy, floppy infant with an energetic, bouncing toddler (to satisfy the Pick Me Up imperative). I soon suggested (gently, subtly, diplomatically) to Joel that maybe he’d be better off on his own, to make it less likely that Micah would be thrown about. Throughout all of this, I’m continuing to interact with Daniel as he races laps around the room, at top speed and top volume. This is true multitasking, simplified somewhat by the kids’ 30-second attention span.

Things finally went quiet when the boys sat down to eat. What relief! But at least the noise was happy noise. It is not always so. And so today we gave thanks for a happy household.

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