Spring Breaking the Silence

My sons are just over four hours into their Spring break. We started it out by going out for an early dinner and I haven't heard from them since. They naturally went straight to the basement upon returning home and started playing Lego Star Wars III, which they just got the other day and I plan on letting them initiate contact.

Over the next week and a half I'm sure that I will see plenty of them. Without school, they will no doubt be barging into my bedroom and asking me inane questions at ungodly hours. I will be asked if it's okay to have cookies for breakfast and in my sleep deprived state will probably answer yes. They will want to play with my iPhone and I will groggily hand it over just to get them out of the room. They wake up earlier and more alert on days when they don't have to and they use this naturally occurring phenomenon to take advantage of my diminished decision making capabilities.

Over their break, there will be plenty to keep us busy. We will be running around to baseball practices. They will have friends over with whom they will play and argue quite loudly. My day will be filled with constant requests to have something or go somewhere. No food in the house will be acceptable and they will want to go to McDonald's every night. I fully expect I will cave a few times out of convenience.

When my sons are off of school for an extended period, they think every day is a party. They will want popcorn to be prepared so that they can eat it while they watch a movie. Every. Night. They will constantly be playing hockey or football or something else that makes an equal or greater racket in the front room while my wife and I are trying to sleep. I will find myself wanting to bottle their energy over the next eleven days so that I might use it on those days when I feel I'm about to fall asleep behind the wheel on my drive home from work.

But for right now, as I type this, things are quiet. They are focused enough on a new video game that they are likely unaware of my presence in the house. I'm going to use that to my advantage and enjoy the silence. It's not going to last long and I won't be seeing much of it over their break. I have a nap calling out to me that wants desperately to be had.