A quiet house

Dave took the kids to Chicago on Monday morning and came home last night, leaving the house SILENT when I got home on Monday and Tuesday nights. It's a strange thing. I really didn't know what to do with myself. So, I did what any other self-respecting mom of four with no extra time on her hands would do. I shopped. I spent hours at Kohl's on Monday, walking around, trying stuff on, checking out clearance, going back when I remembered something else I watned to look at. Then on Tuesday, I spent hours at JC Penney's doing the same thing, but this time my mom joined me. It was incredibly free. I go to Kohl's often, as it's my go-to-for-all-my-staples store, but it's usually quick in, get what I need (or look around until I find enough stuff to use my Kohl's cash!) and get out, on a list of other errands that I'm running. It's not that I couldn't go shopping when Dave and the kids are home. It's that I feel guilty lazily perusing the items--there's things to do, people to see!

When I did get home both nights, it's strange how eerie the house is with no one else in it. I can probably count on both hands the number of times I've actually been alone in the house, much less alone overnight. It feels so... indulgent! Watch TV and watch whatever you want! Don't watch TV, read a book in silence. Take a bath. Eat out of the carton. Eat two desserts! And then in the morning, get up and get ready. Quietly and quickly. Or take your time. All up to me!

But in the end, when I got home on Wednesday and came into the cacophony that is our house, I knew I wouldn't want it any other way. Ava runs over and gives big hugs and kisses. Max pulled me into the office and made me shut the door so he could tell me he missed me and wanted four hugs and four kisses. The big kids, well, they're much less physical these days. Nolan kind of blips on the radar screen, and Abby hangs around, wanting to reconnect, without trying to be too obvious.

The quiet is nice. The loudness is nicer. And absence really does make the heart grow fonder.