notes on a sunday afternoon

 

It’s a warm but windy day, and I can see the curtains billowing in the dining room. Henry is napping upstairs, and I can hear Mike, Liam, and Max outside. It’s a rare moment of relative quiet around here. So much of the time, especially on the weekends, we are on the go, to this sport or that, this event or that, trying to keep the boys active and occupied and happy. Yesterday we had basketball practice and haircuts and a trip to the store and lots of work to do to around the house. This morning we all worked for a couple of hours cleaning up the basement (a never-ending battle), and this afternoon we’re heading to my dad’s fire station open house, where the boys will get to see some of their favorite people, eat hot dogs, climb on fire trucks, and generally wear themselves out. But this, right now, this quiet in-between time with no work to do and no needs to tend to, is rare and precious. I’m hoping that as Henry gets a little older and more self-sufficient, these moments won’t be so rare, that someday we’ll be able to just sit down together and have some peaceful time. But for now, I’m just going to be happy listening to the wind and the distant sounds of boys playing some kind of sword-fighting game, watching the sun shine through the curtains as they move, and enjoying the few minutes I have left before Henry wakes up and the spell is broken.