4 hours of complete quietness can soothe the mind of a mother who just spent 6 weeks in constant company with her 3 kids.

It can make her feel as normal as the apple hanging on the little tree in our summerhouse garden and as calm as the summer rain that fell last night. 4 hours of complete quietness can make her taste her coffee, make her feel the mosquito while it is still biting her leg and make her remember to drink that extra glass of water. I know because I tried it.

4 hours of complete quietness. No kids bigger than tiny, no phone, no internet, no people talking, no tv, no city noises in the background, no way of escaping myself. Just me, my thoughts, the quiet sounds from my baby sleeping in her stroller under the apple tree, a dog barking far away and the water boiling for my coffee. 4 hours of being me.
4 hours in which I read an old magazine. Shaved my legs. Sat in the garden and tried to change the color of my legs from shine-in-the-dark white to just plain white. Cleaned the house with a broom, because turning on the vacuum cleaner and create a lot of noise seemed like committing a small crime. Opened up a present for myself, which arrived yesterday, without having lots of little hands do it for me.
Eat a pear and a peach and a piece of bread. Looked at the sky and drank hot coffee.

So thank you honey, dear husband, Sacha. For giving me a bit of space and a bit of peace. For taking the kids, the phone and the internet away with you. For giving me 4 hours of complete quietness. I hope you enjoyed the chaos, now please give it back, because I like that too.