The Sound of Silence
The sound of silence
By Allan Olson
For the majority of last week, I had the house to myself. As the door shut behind my wife and kids as they departed, I reveled in the sound of silence. I kept myself busy on the first part of the day (Sunday) by finishing up some trimming work on the lawn and watching a baseball game.
That evening is when I first noticed it. I’m so used to the commotion and the background noise of children playing or fighting that I didn’t know what to do with the silence. I’m not sure that I liked it. I admit Sunday was okay being kid-free, and work kept me busy most of the week, but when I got home on those evenings and had no little ones to greet me, it felt really strange as I had to deal with the abnormally strange, quiet house.
When I reunited with them on Thursday evening at the grandparents, I was excited to see them. Thankfully, they were happy to see me as well.
While they were gone only a few days, I felt like I missed an important week in their young lives.
Not much changed during those five days, with my oldest or really even the youngest. I noticed the most change in the twins.
Thursday evening I watched my youngest son hop on his short little bike (absent the training wheels, which we removed a few weeks ago) unassisted and cruise the yard like a pro, turning around, popping wheelies and laying skid marks. Fortunately, his cousins and older brother didn’t teach him about wipe-outs yet.
I was in awe, and in shock. How did he progress to this level so fast? When I last saw him ride his bike, he would get on it and travel a short distance before falling or jumping off to avert a crash and skinned up legs.
Of course, my parents’ yard is much more level than ours, which might have aided in his quest to ride like the wind, free of those cumbersome training wheels and aid from his parents.
According to his older brother, he has some speed in his little legs, as he apparently even beat him in a race. Now whether he had a head start or his brother was being nice and let him win, I really wasn’t sure, and that answer was never clearly provided.
His sister, too, made progress with her bike-riding skills. With her, we didn’t take the training wheels off primarily because she wasn’t as interested in riding, and her little legs are actually too long, so we wanted to leave them on for our youngest daughter, who also made some progress with using a bike and training wheels.
I thought as a solution to that problem I found Abigail a new (used) bike to ride that would match her legs. Alas, while the price was right, the bike was too big and so it could be another year before it actually matches her legs.
While at the grandparents, her older brothers’ (previous) bike was found to be the correct height for her. As her mom helped her get started I watched her cruise toward me, with her little legs pedaling as hard as she could. I soon realized that she, too, will be riding without any assistance in the very near future. Her biggest issue currently is not concentrating on the pedaling and keeping the bike balanced. Regardless, progress has been made toward that freedom. Thankfully, that is all the faster their transportation methods will get until they reach the legal driving age, which is still, thankfully, several years away.
While it may have only been a few days, my time at home in our big house by myself seemed like forever.
Last weekend was enjoyed with virtually no water for most of two days, getting sunburned, visiting with family and fishing (more on those stories another week).
This week, a camping trip is in store for us. With our reservations at a state park in limbo, we (like many others) have been forced to look at alternative places to tent. It should be an interesting experience regardless of where we go.
By Allan Olson
For the majority of last week, I had the house to myself. As the door shut behind my wife and kids as they departed, I reveled in the sound of silence. I kept myself busy on the first part of the day (Sunday) by finishing up some trimming work on the lawn and watching a baseball game.
That evening is when I first noticed it. I’m so used to the commotion and the background noise of children playing or fighting that I didn’t know what to do with the silence. I’m not sure that I liked it. I admit Sunday was okay being kid-free, and work kept me busy most of the week, but when I got home on those evenings and had no little ones to greet me, it felt really strange as I had to deal with the abnormally strange, quiet house.
When I reunited with them on Thursday evening at the grandparents, I was excited to see them. Thankfully, they were happy to see me as well.
While they were gone only a few days, I felt like I missed an important week in their young lives.
Not much changed during those five days, with my oldest or really even the youngest. I noticed the most change in the twins.
Thursday evening I watched my youngest son hop on his short little bike (absent the training wheels, which we removed a few weeks ago) unassisted and cruise the yard like a pro, turning around, popping wheelies and laying skid marks. Fortunately, his cousins and older brother didn’t teach him about wipe-outs yet.
I was in awe, and in shock. How did he progress to this level so fast? When I last saw him ride his bike, he would get on it and travel a short distance before falling or jumping off to avert a crash and skinned up legs.
Of course, my parents’ yard is much more level than ours, which might have aided in his quest to ride like the wind, free of those cumbersome training wheels and aid from his parents.
According to his older brother, he has some speed in his little legs, as he apparently even beat him in a race. Now whether he had a head start or his brother was being nice and let him win, I really wasn’t sure, and that answer was never clearly provided.
His sister, too, made progress with her bike-riding skills. With her, we didn’t take the training wheels off primarily because she wasn’t as interested in riding, and her little legs are actually too long, so we wanted to leave them on for our youngest daughter, who also made some progress with using a bike and training wheels.
I thought as a solution to that problem I found Abigail a new (used) bike to ride that would match her legs. Alas, while the price was right, the bike was too big and so it could be another year before it actually matches her legs.
While at the grandparents, her older brothers’ (previous) bike was found to be the correct height for her. As her mom helped her get started I watched her cruise toward me, with her little legs pedaling as hard as she could. I soon realized that she, too, will be riding without any assistance in the very near future. Her biggest issue currently is not concentrating on the pedaling and keeping the bike balanced. Regardless, progress has been made toward that freedom. Thankfully, that is all the faster their transportation methods will get until they reach the legal driving age, which is still, thankfully, several years away.
While it may have only been a few days, my time at home in our big house by myself seemed like forever.
Last weekend was enjoyed with virtually no water for most of two days, getting sunburned, visiting with family and fishing (more on those stories another week).
This week, a camping trip is in store for us. With our reservations at a state park in limbo, we (like many others) have been forced to look at alternative places to tent. It should be an interesting experience regardless of where we go.
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