On this quiet New Year’s Day morning, tired and hung over from wine and late-night eating, listening to nothing but the sound of my light-touch keypad and random thoughts making a racket in my head as they compete for airtime , I am reminded of how much I cherish quiet.
It’s been a noisy year comprised of two familial vacations, each with different family members; my son’s announcement that he landed a unique opportunity in another country; the congrats party planning and festivities that followed; a 401(k) that rose and plummeted; a series of long-term financial planning sessions with advisers whose advice I unwisely did not follow; and an alarmist doctor I replaced with one who aligns with my thinking that a nutrition and exercise regimen should take its rightful place in an evaluation.
There were also relationships that changed color, like mammoth ships that become smaller from a distance or look blurry as they navigate in and out of clouds. We struggle to see through the haze to check if the [relation]ships are still there, moving closer or further away. And then there are those that become illuminated and come into focus unexpectedly; an ah-ha moment when we realize how special they really are, hopefully not too late.
As I peruse my calendar to see if I missed anything, the noise gets louder, reminding me of expenditures much higher than my norm; house maintenance, end-of-car-lease; travel, and on and on. For 2019, I am looking forward to reining it all in and savoring my quiet hobbies – writing, reading, crocheting, coloring, cooking and maybe finding a new subject to study. Admittedly boring, though boring holds no negative connotation for me when searching for quiet. I make no apologies.
Of course, we all know what they say about the best laid plans, so time will tell if this will in fact be the year of the quiet. But for today, early in the morning on New Year’s Day after the fireworks, midnight toasts and hype are over…shush.
