On Boys….and Noise

Today has been one of those days. I’m running on less than enough sleep. Laundry is spilled out all over the living room. Remnants from lunch (and breakfast) are all over the counter and table, not to mention this morning’s lessons (hmmm….maybe I should be doing that instead of this :D). The toddler is still in her jammies (and just went down for her quiet time…in her jammies). The students this morning were less excited and engaged than a brick wall. And then there’s the noise.

God has blessed us with two rowdy, rambunctious, sometimes rude, rough-housing, rascally, totally rad boys.

One of whom is particularly all boy….including the volume level that comes along with it (not to mention drama!).

In fact, he was the one we had to discipline the most for screaming for any and no reason whatsoever. It seems to be contagious. Especially with an older brother and younger sister around to ramp up the chaos.

I am reminded of one of his favourite lines to sing from a Kristian Stanfill song “Trouble surrounds me, chaos abounding.”

Dude. You ARE the chaos! haha

Over the years, I have had to let go of my peace and serenity. It just is not possible in a home where there are children present…especially boys. I used to be constantly shushing and hushing my kids, especially in public – ever conscious of those glaring eyes following the footsteps of my 2 bouncing boys (and now add a girl into that mix!). Man was it ever stressful trying to keep them constantly controlled and quiet! But I realized that I was doing it, not because it bothered me, but because I was afraid of what other people would think. Mulling it over, I realized that there is a way to allow your children to be loud, and still respectful for others.

Obviously, there are situations where quiet is the only acceptable response – during family devotions, prayer time, quiet time, school time, bed time, often meal time, in stores and other people’s homes.

But the in-between times are the ones where I need to let go and let loose a little. I have been trying to be more of a “yes” mom lately – if I don’t have a good reason to say no, I try to say yes! That goes for accepting some noise also. We won’t tolerate yelling and screaming. But loud, rough and fun play is ok – within guidelines. They need to let loose somewhere, somehow, so if we can train them to have a time and a place for being loud, they’ll be able to respect other people and the times when they need to be quiet.

So in this house, you won’t hear as much “shhh! be quiet! settle down!” (although we still use it at the proper times – and we’re still trying to figure out when exactly those are). And if you come at the right times, you will definitely hear noise, racket, laughter, some crying, but most of all – a mommy trying to have fun, let loose and enjoy her boys.