Moment of Silence

It's 11:26 at night and I have a few moments of peace while the baby pretends to go to sleep. Here's something that you won't read in the brochure:

Your house becomes DisneyWorld.

Now I'm not just talking about the random toys strewn around the apartment or the chorus of laughter mixed with crying and tantrums. I'm referring to the Disney motto of "we are always open." It's a little realized fact but Disney never actually shuts down. It's open to the public for only a few hours but after the last broke tourist leaves the park, they kick into high gear.

My apartment, like Disney World, needs someone to keep the place clean. All of the DVDs three feet from the ground need to be put back on the shelf in their proper order. The walls have to be magically erased by Mr. Clean, the baby bottles have to be powerwashed and if I'm lucky...I get to eat dinner.

This is the happiest place on Earth. Then the baby wakes back up. All of the toys will find themselves out of the box and onto the floor, food will go either in her mouth or behind the television and the chorus of her laughter will fill the room over the faint sound of my tears.