House of Silence...House of Noise...

                                        
   My home is seldom quiet. There is nothing wrong with this fact except I am a person who needs silence a few hours each day. Tommy hates silence. He will not acknowledge his need for noise. In fact, he would argue this is not a correct statement... but it is. The way Tommy and I were raised created these tendencies or traits.  He was born into a large family, one of eleven and I am an only child. He was raised with noise and people talking non stop.  I was raised in a quiet home. The loudest noises were my 'imaginary friends'.   Over the course of time, these little peculiarities become part of our personalities joining the fragments of who we are.  

Noise and silence are occasionally at odds in our home, especially during the week of the full moon. Without a doubt, Tommy will crank up the volume on the t.v. remote.  I often think he goes temporarily deaf during the full moon. I become a little 'edgy' and unfocused.  Thank goodness for my sun room. I have needed that room all my life and did not realize how much until now. 

I seldom write long stories during the full moon.  I write in snippets,  often jotting down notes, ideas, quotes, or fiddle with characters names; things to be used at a later date. To do this once again, I need silence.  Usually,  I read most of the week,  almost non stop or I paint. I need silence to read and music to paint...go figure.  I have an unfinished canvas on my easel now. 

However, reading won the toss up this month.  I read "Lone Survivor" this week and started "The Book Thief". There is no doubt,  "The Lone Survivor" has control of  my imagination and it is not ready to move on. I had to stop reading "The Book Thief" until "The Lone Survivor" has been digested and stored on a book shelf in my mental library.  Right now there is no room for another book in my mind. That often happens with any  good book. I think it could mentally be compared to letting go of a lover. The mind will always go back for more.

  The Full 'Wolf Moon' began on January 15th  triggering this need for quiet.  The name is derived from Indian lore.  Years ago during January,  the wolves would howl at the moon when the ground was barren of food and covered in snow. We don't  have any wolves in our area now. However,  on the 15th the coyotes in our area were loud and close. They woke us up in the middle of the night, howling on our pond banks. They also woke up our German Shepherd, Sabella, who was asleep on the floor at the foot of our bed. She returned fire at the coyotes, scaring the hell out of us...so much for our full moon this month.

Today is quiet. Tommy is helping Jody work. The dogs are asleep. The only sound comes from the crackle of the wood stove and the pecking of my computer keys. My  words are coming slow like they have been asleep and are in the process of waking up.  It is a very soothing day in my corner of the world.

In about two hours Tommy should be home. I always cook when he is gone for the day. After retiring, we 'divided' up the house work. He does most of the cooking and I do the cleaning. When he fishes, hunts or helps Jody work,  then I surprise him with a good meal.  I am in the process of making spaghetti for supper. The silence has been nice but I am ready for him to come home and make some noise. It has been a nice day in my corner of the world...just a little on the quiet side.