The kids and I drove to a friend’s house to help them pick out a paint color for their wall (my friends, they know I love me some paint colors and they also know I’ll have an opinion). They have one little boy who is two and when we left, one of my eight-year-olds said to me, “I wish we lived in a house like that.”
I asked what she meant. “What’s their house like?”
“Cute and quiet and organized. I never get quiet at my house.”
She wants to live in a quiet house.
As much as I tried to convince her their house felt quiet because they have carpet, I kind of know better. She is growing up a girl who needs space. With a twin sister, a little brother, and two younger cousins who live next door, personal space is hard to come by.
We are students of our children – they don’t all need the same thing. We make space for her to have room time, allow her to close her door and tell the others not to bother her, spend time cuddling without too much talk.
I want to teach her to embrace and respect her unique personality while also realizing sometimes we have to sacrifice our own comfort for the sake of community.
This is day 17.
This is a post in a series, 31 Days to Hush. You can click here to see a list of all the posts, updated daily. If you would like to receive these quiet thoughts in your email inbox, subscribe now.
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