The Quiet Returns

The house is already too quiet. Order has been restored.

The refrigerator is too full of all the things I wanted to cook in the short amount of time that they were here. The kleenex and television remote fished from under the couch. The frosting wiped from the back of the chair.

My grandson is gone.

 :-(

His mother took full advantage of having grandparents to babysit, however. Several play dates with old high school friends gave her the respite from motherhood so desired in this life stage. She mentioned that the friends she grew up with also have the ability to keep her laughing. They've had years of helping her create a shared sense of humor, after all. She started kindergarten with most of them.

So quiet it will be for another few days.

Then the vegetarian cookbooks come out for my youngest daughter, who is currently obsessed with finding a puppy. At twenty-three she doesn't believe me when I tell her the desire to nurture a puppy is often a precursor for wanting a baby. She doesn't draw the correlation. But that doesn't stop her from wishing she could have a "puppy shower" for needed puppy accouterments such as a puppy stroller - so needed when puppy needs a nap, or "has had too much sand," she says.

And can also be used for transporting stuff at music festivals, of course.