Day 21: Quiet Time

This post is part of “30 days of Giving Thanks” To read more within this series, click here.

The house was still and silent save for the soft snores of the chocolate lab lying on her bed in the far corner. I sat evaluating the budget and making my to-do list for the following day. No interruptions. No demands. Just the soft airy silence of night.

I got up and peeked in on the children. My oldest was curled up snugly under the covers. My middle daughter was splayed out and lost in dreams. My youngest child lay on his stomach with his bottom up in the air. All quiet. All sleeping. All peaceful.

The evening had become the best part of the day. It was a time for quiet reflection. A period in which I could process the day’s events and prepare for tomorrow’s. With our current life changes, my quiet time has shifted from late evening to early morning. I get up before the sun to read, pray and exercise. It’s a great way to begin the day.

My children have had “quiet time” as part of their routine from an early age. It’s about thirty minutes to an hour of time they spend alone doing something quietly. They can read or play, but they have to be quiet. It accomplishes many things: it allows us to get things done distraction-free, it teaches the kids to entertain themselves quietly, and it gives us a break from each other. Those may sound negative, but they’re not. It’s good to have a little break so that we don’t end up getting on each other’s nerves. There’s fewer sibling quarrels and I rarely hear the words “I’m bored” because they know how to keep themselves busy.

I am thankful for quiet times, no matter when they come. They fortify, refresh and nourish the mind.