Chaotic Normal (Descriptive Essay)

As I sit in the lush, over sized, brown armchair, silence fills the room like a fog. Gradually, I pull myself out of my own thoughts as I hear the ticking of the contradictory clocks in the corner, methodically beating like off-rhythm drummers. Toys are scattered over the ground as if they were tiny mines on a battlefield waiting to explode. I wait in anxious anticipation for my four siblings to come home so I can embrace my chaotic normal.

With one turn of a doorknob, my anxiety subsides, and the silence transforms to the sounds of children as they invade the room. Like frenzied bees at the honeycomb, four children race in to welcome me home from work.  They are dressed in leotards and gym shorts after gymnastic practice, and perspiration still beads on the crests of their foreheads. Jacob is the first to the reach me with an embrace and the sweet sounds of, “I missed you, Sissy.” Shortly behind, Josie, Kiana and Kayla collide into me as I hear a mumbled version that echoes Jacob’s sentiments.

Once they share their feelings of elation that I am home for the night, each settles into his/her own routine for the evening. Josie and Kiana sit in the breakfast room adjacent to the living room to play with the paper dolls they had created earlier in the afternoon. Their dialogue goes from a mom and dad talking about their events of the day to a collection of friends racing up the spiral slide backward at a neighborhood playground. Never short on creativity, Josie and Kiana live in a world of innocence far removed from the harshness of the outside world. Within moments of their fictional stories beginning, the loud banter ensues as they each fight to have a particular scenario take precedence.

 Back in the living room Jacob and Kayla start wrestling each other, followed by breaks of uncontrollable laughter as they maneuver around the tiny mines. However, with the attention span of goldfish, they move on to the aerobic trampoline and bounce together. Alternating between jumping on the trampoline and watching TV, the playfulness and unspoken bond between them is seen as they stand hugging one another in spirited innocence.

Winding down for the evening, it is time for everyone to get ready for bed. Kiana and Josie brush their teeth while laughing as the electric toothbrushes tickle their noses. Kayla brings me her nighttime pull up simultaneously hurling her pajamas in my directions. As I take off her daytime clothes to put on her bedtime attire, she runs around the house yelling loudly, “I am naked.” Jacob follows suit as I chase them through the breakfast room and living room to finish the routine. Finally subduing them, I dress all four children, watch the final two brush their teeth, and take each one to his/her room for bedtime prayers. Within thirty minutes, the house is calm once again.

I sit back and smile as each situation plays out with a contentment that is beyond words. In the noise and mayhem of my home, I realize I would not have it any other way. Silence may be golden, but my world is priceless. To an outsider looking in, it would be easy to get lost and confused in the pandemonium; however, for me, I embrace my chaotic normal as a custom fit for me.