Quietness

Quietness is my desire. I never thought of myself as a quiet person, but now that I have 3 very talkative, noisy children, I find myself longing for quietness. I love the sound of the clock ticking, or the branches rubbing up on the roof. I rarely hear those. I hear lots of noise.... not technology noise. The TV hasn't been on in weeks, the radio rarely gets on anymore. It isn't the computer or any games. It is all noise from the hearts and mouths of children.
Sometimes the sound makes me laugh. Sometimes the sounds bring a slight smile to my face. Sometimes the sounds make be want to scream and pull my hair out. Sometimes the sounds just annoy me for no reason.
I find myself thinking... Did I expect that children would be quiet, still individuals who just sat and read all day and spoke with words like, "mother, may I please have some water" in a soft, gentle, angelic-like voice. I know I expected or wanted to have 'active' children. So that I have. I don't remember thinking about all the noise... I definitely didn't have any idea just how much noise it would be.
I am thankful for the verbal capabilities of my children. They share and express themselves with words quite well and quite often. I am seldom wondering what they are thinking.
I guess my job now is to teach them how to use a filter and not speak every word that comes to their mind.
The Bible talks about only saying things that are Helpful, things that will build others up and encourage others. It also says to be slow to speak and quick to listen. Those are things we all can work on. Especially me!