Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse...

Okay, so my house is super quiet right now. We just dropped my oldest son off at summer camp this morning (I only cried a bit!) and my three little ones are at grandma's. In three hours, my hubby and I leave for a rafting trip (yipee!) but for now, I'm all alone in a very quiet, too quiet house! Those of you with little ones know what a precious rarity this is. We are often alone with our kids in the house, but not without them! I must say, the first few moments were absolutely glorious! I laid in bed and resisted the tempation to find old soaps and reruns on TV. That could get addicting. Instead, I enjoyed a few minutes of precious sleep, then slowly got up and had a bowl of cereal. No one screamed at me that I did not pour the milk high enough or that so and so ate the lasts of the Cocoa Krispies. Ahh. I then folded a load of laundry, then stopped promptly before finishing. Why waste precious time on chores? Those can be done any day, or better yet, assigned to my precious angels! Instead, I went downstairs and played the piano for a bit. Nothing fancy, just some tinkering. Still, it was nice. No one banging on the keys, hammering out their rendition of Chopsticks next to me. I admit I missed it a bit. No audience is no fun. So I went back upstairs, checked my e mail, and pinched myself to make sure I wasn't dreaming. This is the part where the kids come barreling in my room, half dressed, demanding to know where their belt, shoe, sock, doll, squirt gun, or toothbrush is. (To which I always sweetly reply "I am not the keeper of your things!") No one came in though, and I must admit, I missed it a teeny weeny bit. I glanced at the clock anxiously. My precious time was ticking away. Should I go to the gym? Grab a cup of coffee and sit lazily at Starbucks with a newspaper the way I've seen those foreign no kids/briefcase wielding people do? Run down to Mervyns to check out the latest clearance stuff I really don't need but just can't resist? Maybe it's not a good thing to be alone. I could easily run up the credit card on frivolous purchases! Of course, those purchases would not be influenced by a little one screaming for a Bat Man shirt, or made because of a bribe meant to keep my sanity for the remainder of the shopping trip. Okay, I miss them. This is what we all dream about, right? The day the last kid goes off to college, and the house goes back to normal, the day our kitchen counters stay clean and the laundry is reduced to one load instead of ten. But as I look around my messy house at the Transformer underwear on the ground, my daughter's painting from Girl Scouts last week, my son's leftover Lego creation, I have a strong hunch I'm gonna miss these days. Quiet and clean will come someday. Today I will cherish.