Sometimes I see how little ducks follow behind their mother - eight or ten ducklings in a row; they seldom stray. They follow where she goes; all those little ducklings, and I never hear them quack a word - they just follow.
That's the ways I imagine it should be. Not the silence so much (while that would be a welcome change around my house), but the mother in the front with her babies close and directly behind her. It's so the vision I aim for with myself and my kids. But ... keeping my ducklings in line is exhausting, and I only have four. Maybe it's some sort of duck telepathy. Maybe I'm just talking way too much; I know all my children are!
On the upside ... I never see those little ducklings dancing delightfully in front of their mother's, playing them a new tune on the piano, drawing them beautiful landscapes, singing them happy tunes or slobbering their faces with kisses. I guess I'll just try harder to be more patient and continue to concentrate on keeping all my obnoxiously loud ducklings in a row.