Quiet after the Chaos

For more than a week our home echoed with the sounds of children.  The television tuned to Nickelodeon or the Cartoon Network.  Brothers helping each other build a Lego project.  The strum of guitar strings singing their newest melody.  Hugs given without apology.  Ben (the four legged son) finally having a playmate who wouldn't stop playing to soon.  The wonder of Christmas morning.  A quiet request for a pop-tart, toasted please, or for an egg with a bubble (sunny side up).  All of us playing the Friends trivia video game.  And then it was over.  They had to go home, return to school and their friends.  And the echo became the sound of silence.  The silence was overwhelmingly loud.  I miss them.