Sound of silence

"Daddy!"

I’ll miss that little preface to every question that comes out of the girls’ mouths. They’re off for a week with my parents, some 600 miles away.

On our way back, we called several times, mostly to make sure my parents were okay.

In one conversation, Camille asked Susan: "Mommy, what do you look like? I can’t remember what you look like." That’s  eight hours after we left. Next she tells Susan she’s standing there naked while Abby is taking a bath. It was 6:15! I thought my parents were either very skilled at ushering the children to bed or dead tired themselves and needed a break.

But then Camille put Abby on the phone.

Abby: "Nah, we’re about to eat dinner."

Me: "So, why is Camille saying she’s standing there naked?"

Abby: "I don’t know. She’s just wacky."

And thus, our oldest hits the nail on the head.

The trip up North was uneventful, save for the horrible traffic around D.C. Before the trip, we shelled out for a portable DVD player — as opposed to the clunky, huge VHS player we’ve had for years — and the kid watched movies and listened with their headphones while Susan and I talked. What a concept!

We left for parts North on Friday about 4 p.m. on a usual 8-9 hour trip (Note to self: You’re never moving back North, unless they bring their horrible traffic down here.). Abby conked out about 9-ish and slept most of the rest of the way. Camille? Her excitement kept her up; she may have slept about 30 minutes.

We arrived about 1:30 in the morning, Camille still jabbering away. She stayed up with us until about 2:30.

Then she woke up about 6:40 in the morning rarin’ to go. And she didn’t get into bed on Saturday until after 9.

On Sunday, she slept in. Abby was already back on a normal schedule.

When we finally left them with my parents, we barely got hugs, TV you know. It’s a kids’ paradise with my parents.

I’m betting they’ll be ready to come back by Wednesday, though. We brought the DVD player back. My poor parents…

In the meantime, we’ll enjoy the silence for awhile anyway.

Wait, I need to ask Susan a question.

"Mommy!"