Keeping the peace

While I’m sitting on the couch watching TV with the sound off I suddenly realize that the house is very quiet. The sound of squabbling – like the sound of the television – an almost ever-present sound that we practically don’t hear – is gone. Alex and Ned are at the dining room table, and they’re both engrossed in an activity. The same activity.

Beading.

Photo by terren in Virginia (flickr.com)

They’re both using straightened-out paperclips that Jeff has given them. Ned is creating a patriotic red-white-blue sequence; Alex has sorted through the beads to find shapes like teddy bears, trucks and airplanes, and he’s placing them onto his own piece of clip wire.

Even though it lasts just about 10 minutes (both of them beading, that is) it’s a sweet moment of peace and silence and shared interest, which we usually experience only when “Arthur” is on. We all like “Arthur” — Alex because it’s a PBS kids show; Ned because he gets to see school-age kids in various real-life situations. I like “Arthur” too because it’s funny and interesting and well-written, and occasionally plays with viewpoint and perspective. And it’s based on a book series, so every few months we try to get Alex to connect with the books since he’s familiar with the characters.

Will try to introduce another beading session as we head into our weekend, and if all goes well we’ll probably buy our own plastic jar of beads to use as an alternative to TV.