Many, many times in the past I've found myself just wishing for some quiet time. These moments of wishing come at all times: when with family, when with friends, at work, at parties - the list could go on and on. It's never been because I don't like the people I'm with (okay, work might be the exception to that), it's just a need for quiet. Time when I can reflect on my thoughts, think about choices or options before me, take a few minutes to indulge in something I want to do, spend some time conversing with God, or even just relish a lack of stimulation and noise.
Lately, I've been able to see that same desire in Levi. Take today for example. He got up waaaaaay to early for him. He was awake by 6:00 a.m.. I, unfortunately, was also awake and working due to some pregnancy induced insomnia. Yay. Anyway, Little Man was up early. And he was happy. He was all smiles, giggles and snuggles (for a brief 2.5 seconds) before he was off to explore his room and see what could be moved, played with, returned to its correct location, whatever. By 8:00 a.m., however, he was ready for a short nap. Then, he was up and happy all over again by 9:30 a.m. Now, let's fast forward to 11:00 a.m. He's a miserable grouch. So, I put him back in his bed and am listening to him on the monitor. He's not sleeping. He doesn't have any intent to sleep it seems. What he is doing is talking to himself. Happily. If I could understand what he is so busily chatting about, I'm sure it would be a stream of his personal thoughts and/or a reflection of what he's done so far today. Did he want a nap when he got so grouchy? Nope. But he sure did want some quiet time away from mommy.
If I didn't understand the need for quiet myself I might feel hurt by that, but I'm not. Instead, I'm happy that he knows when he needs a few moments to himself. And the bonus to him needing quiet? I get a few minutes of quiet myself!
