The sound of silence

Like most people we keep or windows closed through the winter months. The weather has been nice enough recently though that we've been able to leave our bedroom window open at night. I gotta tell you, though. Although I like the fresh air (even if it is humid and stagnant at times), I'm not sure that I like the new noises.

I like hearing the birds chirp and sing in the morning while I'm in the bathroom. I actually don't even mind hearing the cat meow his ritualistic "let me out!" at the front door every morning as soon as the first person in the house gets up.

But... The car doors slamming as people arrive home from work, a party, or the grocery store at midnight. I could do without that noise. The loud, muffler-removed roar of a car engine as I'm just fading off to sleep. Yeah, I could do without that too. The local teens walking below my window swearing about something, or someone as I'm trying to blank my mind of all the tasks for tomorrow so I can get some shut-eye. Not on my list of favorite sounds. The Fourth of July firecrackers that seem to start about June 1st and punctuate the night's solitude every night until August 1st. Nah. You can keep 'em. I don't want those either.

It's kind of strange though, because in the absence of all that noise at my mother-in-law's (in the deep forests and mountains of North Carolina, away from everything), I find it hard to sleep as well. There's gotta be a balance in here somewhere. I hope to find it one night.

Yawn.... We'll it's late enough that I need to go face the music.