And There Was Silence

I arrive home from work, and it is silent. It is, after all, 9am--kids at school, husband off to work. And it is silent.

There was a time when the silence dug a hole right through me, when I avoided television so as not to let it absorb my day, but drowned in the writing of endless cover letters and the absence of any response to them. There was a time when I longed for the moment when everyone would come home, when the noise would start, so that I could feel useful again, all the while feeling empty for the hours that had passed and the little that had been accomplished. 

Back then, the silence was painful. But today, the silence is the most comforting sound of all. It allows the sleep I crave and the few hours of no responsibility I have earned. It is head-clearing and body-rejuvenating. It is not the same silence as before. It is a silence I welcome, not a silence I fear.

There were a few hours of silence today. And my peace with them has made all the difference...