Those moments of silence we often wish for? I have them, although I’m not complaining. Each one is much like a refresher, a welcome pause, from life’s daily ruckus. Finding that necessary mental space as time keeps hurling fast-pitched thoughts at you can be a blessing. Silence is a sound you hear.

For a brief time, I can listen to rain softly falling, almost appreciating the sound as opposed to focusing on how it might impact plans which are on my schedule. Music drifts into my office from the kitchen and the song playing brings back a memory or two. Memories. They have a way of waiting until you stop long enough to let them in the door; that only happens when the sounds of silence take over.

Wrapped in the surrounding quiet, I hear footsteps running up my stairs and I think back to when my grandchildren were little and needed me more than they do now. I miss those precious sounds. I miss those precious “little’s” in my life even more.

Off in the living room, a chiming clock signals the passing, or arrival, of one more hour. This monitor of passing time seems even louder when everything else is so quiet. It makes me wonder just how many more chimes will I hear as time keeps moving along at warp speed?

A beep in the kitchen signals the shutdown of the coffeemaker, reminding me that another cup is called for while I can enjoy it in my silent surroundings. There is just something about doing that, whether early in the morning before the rest of my world awakens or, at any moment, where it’s just me and silence, my old friend.

From Mama Kat’s Writer’s Workshop: Listen to the sounds in your house for 5 or 10 minutes. Write about what you hear.