Peace

Have you ever wondered what peace looks like? I have a rambunctious 2 year old and I wonder that every day. Park is, by far, my busiest, loudest, wildest, biggest, 2 year old. He usually wakes up in the morning on the wrong side of the bed. Between 6am and 7am, Park wakes, not refreshed for a new day, nooo, he wakes, upset that the old day ended and he obviously wasn't ready for it. Lately he has taken to sleeping on the floor. I've decided that he is doing this because it allows him to be more mobile as soon as he awakes. For instance, just this past week he wakes up in the middle of the night, around twoish, and drags his pillow and blanket into our room, of course he's crying, and crashes in the middle of the floor. By being on the floor, you see, he doesn't run the risk of falling off the side of the bed on his way out. You know, it's dark, and who really wants to make the effort of opening your eyes, it's easier to just know that you're already at the lowest possible point, and stumble your way toward mom and dad's room. In the end, however, the more you stumble, the more walls you hit and the louder you cry, which only makes for a more upset daddy, who is upset that your waking him for the third time tonight. Don't get me wrong, Park has typically been a really great sleeper, but with the advent of sleeping on the floor, he has decided that he can wake in the middle of the night and do as he pleases.

At least, however, at night he is quiet for a few hours here and there. During the day it is all go and always at full throttle. I believe that Park is very, very grateful that he has older siblings, and if he could verbalize that in a coherent way, he would tell them, but not in the way you might think. Park would thank them for leaving doors open, leaving no-no things in easy reach, not paying attention to him when the TV's on, and especially for not freaking out when every thing's quiet. Yep, that's when he does his best work, and try as I might, I cannot seem to get it through my older children's heads when everything is quiet, that is the time to PANIC!! In fact, quiet at my house definitely does not mean peace.

I live for the moment during the day when my little Park man poops out. Then, and only then, do I find peace. Peace that is lasting, if only for an hour or two, and if I'm really lucky and he's really pooped, 3. I have a visual everyday of Peace, and here is what it looks like.