As we entered Day #5 of dust, mess, and LOUD banging noises (but let’s not forget, beautiful, albeit slow floors), my nerves hit a new low.  I packed up the girls and we headed north to my Mom and Stepfather’s house.  If there is anything I can say about my hometown, I can say it’s quiet.  Or so I remembered…

The girls played in the pool and outside on their bikes and scooters.  Say what you want about minivans, but in 10 quick minutes you can throw your entire garage into the back and be on your way.  After dinner they decided it was time to put on a show for Grandma, Pa Pa Ray, and Pa Pa Bump.  Kelly’s part of the show involved her pretending to be a Chimney Sweeper from Mary Poppins while singing London Bridge as loudly as possible.  The fireplace tools make for great Dick Van Dyke/Chimney Sweeping props.  Sara’s role was more of an ad lib of songs about butterflies with the occasional Chinese word thrown in here or there.  There was a lot of jumping and twirling with her eyes closed.  Cutting edge, if you ask my opinion.

The house fell asleep quickly on Night #1, except for The Momma, who, in the quiet of the house, realized Grandma has 3 chiming clocks.  THREE.  That chime 24 hours per day.  Not loud or horrible chimes, but CHIMES, every 15 minutes, nonetheless.  Sergeant Sal may be a lot of things, but tardy isn’t one of them.

The next day greeted us with a bevy of new challenges on my school’s playground, and in Cousin Avery’s pool.  Both girls voted for the “big” pool for the first time, and it didn’t take long for me to realize every dime we spent on swimming lessons last winter was money well spent.

This awesome playground didn’t exist when I went to school here.  I’m blown away every time I see this monstrosity in my little school’s yard.  This picture doesn’t even take in half of the entire structure.  I tried to ignore the noise of the wood chipper as the tree surgeons cut limbs all around the edges of the playground.  “Noise” seems to be the theme of this week.

We ran for the nearby woods to take a nature walk in peace and quiet, away from the industrial sized saws.  Interestingly enough, and right on theme, the tiny parking lot next to the woods was being repaved.  Mom and I could barely hear each other as we walked through the woods.  We escaped into the teaching greenhouse, where I found my only quiet of the week.  It was old and wet and messy…and full of all sorts of funny plants.  It was my favorite part of the trip.

Back to Mom’s for a quiet lunch, and the girls quickly fell into their 2nd nap in 6 days.  I laid down in the sunroom, where I cannot hear the chiming clocks, thinking, yes, it’s sunny, but it’s blessedly quiet.  And it was, for about 60 seconds, when Mom’s neighbor decide to weed and mow right next to the window where I was resting.

I could get this kind of rest in my own home, so we packed up and headed back towards Indy.  Daddy greeted us at the door, ready to show us hundreds of feet of brand new wood flooring.  Shiny (now I see why Realtors call it “gleaming”), perfect in every way, oak floors.  I didn’t expect it to be done, and we still have the stairs and many other details to finish…but the floors are done.  Walking on them is heaven.  My always bare feet are home.

Back to dusting…hope to be back here soon with pictures to share.  I’ve never been so happy to clean!