Swish, swash, swish, swash. The dishwasher moves the water around noisily as I sit on the couch with my laptop. I’m preparing to write about this Writer’s Workshop prompt: “Listen to the sounds in your house for 5 or 10 minutes. Write about what you hear.” I’m thinking, “5 or 10 minutes to write a blog post! I can do that!”
Just as I open the “Add New Post” browser I hear footsteps on the stairs. A little voice says, “Mom, I can’t sleep.” I look up at my 7 year old and sigh. She has a big test tomorrow, and I’m supposed to make sure she gets plenty of sleep. Lately she hasn’t been going to sleep by 8:00 the way she used to. I take her upstairs to her bedroom. As I lie down next to her, she starts talking about what makes a sentence, and how it takes more than just a capital letter and a punctuation mark to make a real sentence. My tired brain has a hard time following what she is saying; we are whispering so that we won’t disturb her little sister. Her mind is churning with information she has learned at school today, and she seems far from sleep. I know that if I stay, she won’t be able to stop talking. I tell her it’s time to be quiet; she needs to sleep. I tiptoe downstairs.
The dishwasher has run through the wash and rinse cycle, and is now quiet. The window is open. The crickets chirp. I settle back on the couch to write my blog post. The only sound I hear from upstairs is the whirring of the fan in the hallway. Finally I have 5 minutes to myself to write this blog post. Until I hear the key in the front door, and Ed walks in.
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