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Hide-and-Seek
My Children's Gift of Solitude By Staci Schoff

When I told my husband what I'd discovered, he surprised me by saying that hide-and-seek is his favorite game to play with the kids too. And that got me thinking. Instead of he and I trying to discuss our respective days in the late afternoon, at the top of our lungs with constant interruptions, why don't we just play hide-and-seek? We give an enthusiastic, "You guys find Mama and Daddy!" And off we go with our glasses of wine to our little nook in the closet. It's almost as romantic as the couch used to be before we had little ones jumping on it (and us) constantly. Wine, quiet conversation, quality time playing with the kids and all for simply shouting an occasional, "Aaaahhh! You found us!"
It's the new "happy hour" for those of us who can't remember what it's like to be in a bar at 5 p.m. anymore. At the very least, it's as peaceful as it gets around here when children are actually still awake. Happy kids, parents without headaches. It's a marvelous thing.


