This post is a part of the Five Minute Friday link up. We write for just 5 minutes on a one-word prompt, without heavy editing, and see what happens. This week’s word is “quiet.”
Last week my newly graduated from high school daughter and I took a trip to the mountains of North Carolina. She wanted to hike, write, and cook. We accomplished all of those things (albeit with blisters from ill-fitting hiking boots that I had gotten a month in advance just to make sure that wouldn’t happen) and had a fun time together.
One of the things that struck us the most was just the quiet of the setting we were in. We rented an AirBnB cabin for the week that we had to traverse up a steep gravel road to get to. We were surrounded by green with only the occasional dog barking marring the utter stillness. Even the birdsong enhanced the quiet.
We’re used to a lot of noise. We live in the suburbs, but have to endure the noise of completely obnoxious backfiring cars (what is it with that modification that makes the drivers like that?), speeding motorcycles with roaring engines that fly up the main road outside our subdivision, super loud airplanes that take off overhead because the airport is conveniently about 15 minutes away. It’s just noisy. And distracting. And often frustration-inducing. Makes me want to put my hands over my ears like my 3-year-old grandson and say, “Loud noise! Loud noise!”
I know I shouldn’t let it get to me. There is a lot that is good about where we live. But if I could take our house, our church, our friends, and the conveniences that I enjoy close by and transplant them to the quiet of the mountains, I’d do it in a hot minute.
But for now, a week at a time will have to do.
Compelled 
What a lovely post! I could really sympathize with you because I live in a pretty loud suburban area, yet I feel most at home in the great outdoors.
Nice having the conveniences close by, but the stillness really speaks to my soul more than Starbucks does! Thanks for stopping by!
When I visit my friends who live in the desert, I am always surprised by how quiet it is laying in their guest bedroom. It is not until I am away from the hum of “normal” life that I realize there is something to be missed. So while I can’t make the refinery down the street from my house any quieter, I search to create a quietness in me. (I still have a long way to go! Ha ha.)
Amie, FMF #16
Maybe that’s why so many people wear noise-canceling headphones these days. Drown out the noise! Living near a refinery would be brutal!
Congratulations on your daughter’s graduation from high school. Such a huge milestone for your family! Your trip to the mountains of North Carolina sound lovely. I’m so glad you were able to enjoy this trip together and fulfill her heart’s desires to: hike, write, and cook.
~Lisa, FMF #20
Thank you, Lisa! My last one graduated! 😢
I resonate with your post. I like where I live. The noise of life energizes me. But when we camp, I savor the quiet. So much to notice that normally gets lost in the volume of the loudness of a world that is busy. Of course if we take our conveniences with, then it would cease to be the quiet refuge that it is.
Thanks, Stephanie. The noise around us can just become white noise, as long as they don’t drown out the voice of God!