Slice of Life

Slice of Life
Join the slicing for the month of March

Friday, March 2, 2012

Silence

We live at the end of a 900 foot driveway along a meandering, shallow river making its way to the Atlantic Ocean. We have no neighbors to the north or east. There is a neighbor to the south through trees and a neighbor to the west through a ravine and more trees. With no traffic and retired neighbors on only two sides it is a very quiet place to live.
Tonight small snowflakes continue their monk like journey to our lawn. The neighbors are tucked away in their homes waiting for the weather to clear. Freezing temperatures still the river. Our dog sits at the dining room window contemplating when her master will come home. The only sound is the rap-tat-tat of my fingers flying over the keyboard. It is still and I am appreciating this bit of time I have to collect my thoughts.
There was a time that I disliked quiet. It made me very uncomfortable. When our children were living at home, there was always noise, excitement, chatter, arguing, clanging and clattering, and some type of medium blaring. If the kids and my husband went away, I would wander aimlessly around the house waiting for them to return not knowing what else to do. I yearned for noise and never appreciated quiet.
Now, however, I have learned to drink up a bit of tranquility. I know how to focus on my reading, writing, or just sit and think. I watch for birds, foxes, and deer. I notice the ice floes that move upstream instead of downstream. I listen for owls sending out their mating calls. I think about our kids and wonder what they are doing at this very minute or remember something about them that makes me smile. I imagine my husband and I on our upcoming vacation...where we will go...what we will do.
The quiet is blissful...and an important part of this life I now live.

10 comments:

  1. My home life is so filled with quiet I often wonder how I will ever adjust to having children someday. It's like a blissful piece at the end of a long noisy day of teaching. I love the way you built up the setting at the beginning of the slice.

    Katie

    ReplyDelete
  2. Beautiful - I felt your quiet and calm as I read. It sounded/felt so peaceful.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Lovely post - I would love to crawl into that silence instead of heading out to work this morning.

    ReplyDelete
  4. "Snowflakes continue their monk like journey" - I like the image. It goes with the silence. I find that I have too much noise around me. The way you describe all the things that you notice around you shows how important silence is.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Wanda,
    I couldn't help but notice all the "quiet" words in your slice:
    silence
    meandering
    monk
    contemplating
    wander
    tranquility

    Talk about specific word choice!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you all. Thank you for noticing, Ruth:) What I love about this month, is the wonderful ways everyone encourages each other to keep trying. The comments are always kind, thoughtful, and full of hope, even if you don't think the piece is as good as it could be.

      Delete
  6. Thank you so much for your kind words, I was very lucky to have both sets of grandparents live close by. As for your post, it definitely made me feel more relaxed. I miss being able to catch those quiet moments. You really did make your words turn into an image.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Wanda, I am touched by your ability to adapt to the quiet life after the kids have flown the nest. It is a hard transition to make, but apparently you have adapted with grace. Thanks for your quiet post.

    ReplyDelete
  8. You painted such a beautiful picture of peace - it was like taking a little vacation! Lovely.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Wow! What a beautiful place to enjoy those peaceful moments. I have to agree the phrases, "meandering, shallow river making its way to the Atlantic Ocean" and "monk like journey" brought me right in and had me feeling the moment of peace and the palpable silence. You are really honing your craft! Way to go! I want to hear more about where you live!

    ReplyDelete