A little peace

I long for peace and quiet. With a 5-year-old and a nearly-3-year-old in my house, I rarely get it. (The 5-year-old wiggles and often talks in her sleep.) About the only time in the day when my house gets reasonably quiet is when we have the TV on and they are absorbed in whatever show or movie they are watching.

I know this doesn't speak highly of my mothering techniques. I'm well aware that most moms speak poorly of the idea of letting the television babysit your kids. I never intended to be the kind of mom who let her children watch hours of TV throughout the day. But here I am. Tired. Irritable. Nauseated. And it is SO freaking hot and humid outside. I just want a little peace.

I turned off the TV today. I've been having a crappy day and we got out of the house before 9am this morning - going to visit Gigi (my grandmother), having brunch with her at Chick-fil-A (where the kids can be crazy in the near-sound-proof indoor playground while she and I visit and watch them through the floor to ceiling window. We went to my dad's - his unairconditioned apartment providing at least a different atmosphere and different toys for them to amuse themselves for a short bit. I told them there would be no TV once we got home until quiet time. I put my foot down.

And man, am I regretting it. I just want a little peace. I want to go to the bathroom without having to hear them fighting in the next room - or worse, bringing their fights into our tiny bathroom. I want to be able to read my book in relative quietness - just 15 minutes would be nice! I want to be able to breathe without feeling my head pound against itself from the incredible volume which my bossy daughter commands her brother.

I'm keeping to my word. The TV is off. But I am counting down the minutes to quiet time when I can put Little Man to bed and park Fuss in front of the TV and close the door to my room to wallow in my misery (today everything seems to make me want to gag and retch).