Q - Quiet Time

This is something which has become a rarity since we moved into parenthood. With a young kid in the house, you get used to all the noises he / she makes. And quite gradually you get so used to it, if some days you find your home quiet you feel something is missing. Like us :-) 

As a kid, I grew up in a house which was on the main commercial centre of the town, there were some or other sounds which you would hear the entire day. (luckily night time was quiet!). There was a paper mill and coal mines in our town, so there were lot of peaceful residential quarters for the employees working there as well. I was so used to my place that if I ever went to the quarters area, I used to wonder how people live there. It was so quiet, I found it eerie as if something is not quite right and something bad is about to happen. As I grew up and moved to hostel and other places, I started enjoying and liking the quieter neighborhood. 

When Shaurya was still a very young baby, I suddenly 'discovered' how noisy our houses are ( especially my parents and in-Laws place). I would be trying to make him sleep and some or other noise will wake him up. At our place, even people talk so loudly! Living in an apartment for quite some years now, I had forgotten how noisy houses can get. But as Shaurya is growing, we are also slowly adjusting to all the ho-halla. As parents, I & M have been getting used to our not so quiet evenings. The only time when Shaurya sits quietly and plays is when he is playing with his JCBs, Cars, & other automobiles; he drives all this on his bed and forms a long queue by putting them one after the other. One more thing which quietens him a bit is his cartoon show, Dinosaur Train or when we read him a story book, but even then he keeps on asking or telling something in between. 

With time, we have learnt to snatch some quiet time. In the evening, just before his dinner, we make him play with his cars and all. Gives us time to relax a little, before we get along with the task of making dinner. He also plays after his dinner but at that time we are busy finishing off our dinner and catching up on some news. After he sleeps off, our chit chat continues.. somedays we are asleep in the process of trying to make him sleep. :-) Also there are days when he is very tired or sleepy (in case he hasn't had his afternoon nap) and thus sleeps early. 

The gist is Quietness is something whose importance you realize only once you become a parent! :-D