Quiet Boys
No, neither boy is inclined toward quiet; thus my concern when they are.
Hans enjoys reading his books (and Mommy & Daddy’s books, when he has a chance of them) aloud to himself, singing and vocalizing to his toys, and naming whatever he can see from the window (“Guys!” “Bus!” “Cat! Meow!”).
I have learned through experience that when Hans is quiet and out of view, there is likely cause for alarm. Out of direct supervision and not making any noises that indicate what he is doing means he might be drawing on something he’s not supposed to, eating something he’s not supposed to, or just doing something he thinks he’s probably not supposed to. So, silence has become a ill omen.
Now I have a baby again, but I don’t always immediately make the mental switch from mother of toddler to mother of newborn. I realized this yesterday when I left Jaeger in the living room on a blanket, awake but falling asleep, to go do something in the kitchen. After being in the kitchen for 15 minutes, Jaeger hadn’t made a noise (Hans was also asleep). The fact that he was quiet suddenly broke in on my thoughts. I became concerned. I went and checked on him. He was simply laying there staring at nothing. I then considered — what had I expected? What had I worried about? My toddler-habits had whispered in my ear that silence is bad, but now I must learn flexibility — silence and invisibility of Hans means I don’t know what he’s doing and need to check on him, silence and invisibility of Jaeger means he’s sleeping or at least content and there is no cause for concern.
Ah, the complexities of two. :)
