I Am All Alone

The back door has just shut, receding footsteps have clattered down the deck stairs, car doors have slammed- and they are gone. I am all alone.

This is a rarity- my having the house to myself, some peace and quiet.

John and Kelly have gone off to start exploring her options as far as new cars- she has some specifics in mind as to what she wants and what she doesn't want. With the prospect of a more severe winter (according to the Old Farmer's Almanac) and a 2007 Corolla in need of new tires before the snow flies...it's time to find a new car.

Meanwhile-I have blessed peace in which to think without constant interruption or noise pollution interfering with my thought processes. No TELEVISION incessantly droning in the background for the next two hours. I do not watch television because it is just noise to me and does not provide me with a sense of having accomplished something construction. I mean, where would this country be if our forefathers had sat on their asses in front of the TV- "Yo, John, you want to maybe work on that declaration?" "Are you shittin' me Ben? Man Men is on! We can work on that later!" Really- is there any value in wasting your life watching TV? (Let me think- my husband, the Lord of Projects Never Finished, lies on the couch every day glued to the same shows, over and over again. It has gotten to the point where I can practically recite verbatim the words of every Mystery At The Museum episode, and that is just from the show being background noise in my life, not because I've sat in the living room watching it.

John has promised me a grandfather clock since we got married- 31 years ago. I do not have a grandfather clock, and do not expect to have one, unless by some miracle we inherit the one he made for his mother decades ago, before I had even begun dating him. I want bookcases for all my books that are in stacks around the house, in file boxes in the basement. Nope. TV is more important than being productive. I don't understand that mentality. He says it's how he destresses from his day. He tunes the world out, including us by turning up the volume if Kelly and I try to have a conversation. That is insulting and rude. When he is gone, there will be nothing he leaves behind to show he ever lived. He doesn't live. He just exists. Kelly and I live and we have produced huge bodies of written works in our lifetimes so far. We've managed to entertain some people along the way.

I can hear the birds outside, the wind in the trees. I love the sounds of nature. I wish I lived near the ocean...I like the sounds of waves shushing on the beach, cresting and crashing on the shore during storms. I guess you can say I like the simple things in life, not the loud and obnoxious ones.

Today- at this moment- I can relax for once, my ears not assaulted by too loud commercials and voice over actors using persuasive tones to try to convince me the drivel they're presenting is meaningful. I would rather read a book and hear the characters voices in my head, at a volume I can control, at a pace I can relax with.

Oh, thank Heaven for these rare moments of peace and quiet because this is how I distress from the chaotic, demanding world...and it doesn't happen often enough around here.