By Golly.....They're Actually PLAYING!!!

In the land of motherhood, this last week has been no fun - no fun at all! Here was my week.... Pneumonia with my oldest, the terrible twos setting in late with my 4 year old, the dog puking, as usual, and PMS for me - YAY!! We were trapped in all week. If I had a dollar for every time I yelled...."Can't we all just get along!?" I would be a rich woman. My kids could not, would not, did not even know how to communicate without whining, yelling, blaming, teasing, "naying-naying", pushing, kicking, nagging, and relentlessly bugging each other. It was one of those weeks I could have gone running for the hills - they were CRAZY!

And then comes Monday morning and I roll myself (reluctantly) out of cozy sleep. I must play the role of drill sergeant, aka "Mom" another day. After the regular morning routine of getting dressed, breakfast, coffee, laundry, taking away the ipod touch, and a little straightening up....I realized the house was quiet. Suddenly, it had just....happened. The TV was off and no one was fighting over the computer. No one was chasing the dog(s), no one was throwing toys across the room. There was no screaming coming from far reaches of the house. And it dawned on me...somewhere I heard the sounds of angels in the distance. For a minute, I thought the end is near - I've finally lost it & gone nuts. But my curiosity got the better of me and I started sneaking through the house...listening intently for those happy little angel whispers. As I drew closer to the sound, I realized what I heard were the happy sounds of childhood. By golly, my children are PLAYING!!! They're actually PLAYING!!! Hallelujah........HALLELUJAH!

I hear giggles, babies being diapered, legos being stacking, and dress-up toys being pulled out of a bin. I hear imaginations going wild and the sweet, soothing sounds of communication. I hear happy little made-up tunes being hummed. I suck in my breath as I hear a change in the sounds. They are quickly coming closer. I hide behind a wall for fear that once I am discovered listening, these sounds will stop. However, they are too caught up in the land of childhood that they never know I'm lurking around the corner. I sneak a peek as they come up from the dungeon, flying off to another faraway land. In this new land, they build fortresses protected by ninjas. Admittance is only allowed with secret knocks and golden passes. I cringe as I wait for the magical spell to be broken when I realize I have been detected blow-drying my hair. Instead, I am greeted with a special VIP pass. For now, peace in the kingdom has been restored, and I am so very thankful.

I know soon enough, this time of rest will not last. The Queen will become distracted with photos to edit, orders to place, meals to shop for and cook, toilets to clean. She will be called upon to play favorites, choose a side, and settle disputes. The prince and princess will quarrel for power and heads will roll. But at least for today, at least for one hour, the prince and princess were doing exactly what they weren't meant to be doing.....they were just playing.

And peace was felt all over the land.