The Sounds of Home

/ Jessica

Don’t you just love listening to things around you?

I do. Our life has slowed way down in recent months,  and I’ve really found myself embracing what I hear.

Do you ever do that? Just notice? Just listen? Just be aware?

I have been doing that a lot. It’s kind of funny how the act of simply listening can fill the gratefulness pails to the brim.

Lately, I’ve noticed how much I love the sounds of our daily life:

  • the hum of the dryer
  • Little Bit’s potato chip bag rustling in the other room
  • the cats meows 
  • water running in the sink
  • little feet tearing down the hallway
  • the opening of the garage door when my husband gets home from work
  • music on the iPad
  • the dog snoring
  • Little Bit’s singing while he plays
  • the thunder of last night’s storm
  • a car driving down the gravel road
  • bull frogs putting on a rock concert in the pond
  • spring peepers belting out a melody
  • when helicopters appear and we race out to see them
  • chit chat of the mourning doves
  • hoots of the owls
  • the pair of geese that flew over our heads at sunset last night
  • conversations of coyotes late on any given night

Ordinary? Maybe. Extraordinary? Definitely. 

Every single day, moments tick by. The second hand on the clock never seems to stop. What I love the most about listening is, that even though it doesn’t actually stop time, it puts us in the moment. This moment. 

Yesterday, listening graced me with multiple gifts:

  • In the afternoon, Little Bit burst into the room and announced that he was delighted that I am his best friend!
  • I got to hear the sloshes of little feet stomping wildly in puddles!
  • Spring’s serenade filled the house as we opened the windows to let in the warm March breeze.

Right now I can hear Little Bit’s breath as he sleeps, the cat pawing at the bedroom door, and a crow cawing outside the window. I don’t care so much for crows, but man, I sure do love the sounds of home.  

    
 

      29 thoughts on “The Sounds of Home”

      1. What a great post…It’s the little and day-to-day things in life that make our memories. Being able to just sit back and listen is so important and being grateful for them just makes us happier!

        Thanks for sharing and reminding me to enjoy the moment and just listen!

        Liked by 1 person

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      3. In your opinion I’m a wonderful writer 😂

        And it makes me happy and grateful that you and a handful of other people think that about my stories.. Now, if I could convince a whole bunch of people to think the same way, I might sell a few of them 😄

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      4. I find all my senses can “bring me home again” ..
        Seeing a piece of furniture that takes you back to your favorite chair or sofa from years gone by.. We had Mimosa , lilac, honeysuckle and crabapple trees.. But for the life of me, I never knew the kind of tree we had in the front yard that the boy next door and I were always getting in trouble for climbing 😂 .. But seeing trees like the ones we had, bring me home..

        Hearing a clock or tea kettle or a favorite song, from childhood..

        Touching a piece of fabric that is the same type material a loved one’s work clothes were made from or walking on the same plushness of carpet, the past you, would lay on the floor watching tv as a kid..

        But I think my favorite sense of “home” is, smell.. Favorite comfort foods from childhood.. Dad’s Old Spice aftershave.. Mom’s lavender powder..

        The sense of home for me right now is the past.. My new roots are just too new and incomplete to have that home feel.. That’s not a bad thing.. It’s exciting and a learning experience that will take on the meaning and feel of home as I make progress.. My Dad has given and made some things for my home and a wonderful friend gave me a very special doorbell for my new and very incomplete home.. 💛

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        • Hi there. Sorry for the late reply. We’ve been back in the land of “Soul Service”.

          I absolutely LOVE every single thing you said. Makes me want to write a book about my friends memories… Love the Old Spice and lavender powder.

          You are such a wonderful writer. Now, before you say you aren’t, trust me. :)

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      6. Ah, what a beautiful post, Jessica, and I so agree. I wake up to birdsong every day which I try never to take for granted. When we listen, really listen there’s so much that makes our world so beautiful. I guess it’s being mindful, tuning in to the moment and appreciating everything, which is what you’re doing. What a wonderful way to approach life, just lovely.

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      7. I’ve often wondered what an unborn child hears? What does that sound like? I think sounds, without vision, present a cleaner and more pristine picture in your mind without the clutter of the image.

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      8. There is real magic in the sounds of everyday life and that of a sleeping child one of the most idyllic. A lovely reminder to listen out attentively for the everyday which makes any moment extraordinary. Yesterday my husband and I went for a walk along the river and I just had to stop and soak in the Spring bird song. Heavenly.

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