Phew! They're gone...

Yes, all over town you can hear the collective sigh of relief coming from strung out, stay at home moms everywhere! We have been liberated by the big yellow bus and the brave souls we call teachers!
While I did do a little happy dance this morning watching 3 out of 5 get on the bus, (the oldest goes to high school...no hangin' at the bus stop with him and besides - it's way too early for me and the littlest boy doesn't start until Friday), it hit me around 1pm or so that the house was unnaturally quiet. What has my job become over the summer besides keeping warring factions from killing each other?
I'm sure within the next couple of weeks, I will fill the quiet time with different chores and projects (like some much needed painting, tiling the back splash in the kitchen and maybe even planting bulbs in the front beds to make up for the ones the puppies have dug up this year), but let it be known that the first couple of weeks of school, while filled with the quiet I've longed for since sometime mid-July, can be hard to cope with as well. For why do we have children if it isn't to delight in them - noisiness and all?