Quiet, Please!





 
Jordan builds a fort to prepare for snowball fight with brothers.
 
 

Last weekend my family and I traveled from our home in Long Beach, the flattest part of Long Island, to a spot in the Poconos Mountains. Not only the terrain was opposite, but this part of the world sounded nothing like home.  

While the kids slept late, I bundled up in as many layers as I could tolerate, squeezed into my boots with double socks and went for a walk up the quiet road. And I mean up. The roads in the Poconos go either uphill or downhill and rarely anything in between. I got to work muscles usually neglected in Long Beach. 

After a few minutes passed, I noticed the silence. Only my boots crunched in the icy snow. Unlike home, there were no motors running, no dogs barking, no planes roaring overhead, no cars or trucks or buses zooming by, no taxis honking. I could hear myself breathe. I could hear myself think and pray. Quiet melodies played in my mind without my phone interrupting. This world was crystal clear. The air wasn’t cluttered with noise. I wished I could pack up this peace and take it home with me. 

I love silence, so how did I end up living in a noisy corner of the world? Of course, I could blame my husband who got me to fall in love and follow him to the beautiful city by the beach where he grew up. Fine for Gene—he likes background noise. He sleeps with the TV blasting or talk radio shows on until I find the off button. 

To add to the noise of our area, we have five kids and a dog, a compulsive barking Yorkie. At our home’s highest decibel, Keyra is barking at the mailman, the kids are yelling at a video game with ten other boys in the house while Gene is watching TV. My ears ring just thinking about it. And now that the kids are getting older, they stay up late. The cacophony seems to go on forever. 

My refuge is the morning hours. I wake up before the sun rises to enjoy my quiet time, have cereal while reading the Bible and write until I get sleepy and crash on my keyboard.
 
Today my wish came true (for a day.) After experiencing our first winter blizzard this year, our home looks like the white world of the Poconos. The roads were closed last night after eleven as the snow began to pile. Taxis stopped driving at five—I know because I had to walk home from work, forty five minutes of toughing it out. This morning I could hear Keyra snoring in the silence. Kids are sleeping late, and I’m enjoying some peace until friends drift in, stomping their boots and the fun begins. 

Thank you, Lord, for these moments. When the roads clear, I may go buy some earplugs.

 

Other stories by Francy:

Novel for Kindle
Randi's Steps

3rd place Best of Best short story at Faithwriters.com
Where's My Kitchen

Blog post about the year Samaritan's Purse Ministries rebuilt our home
A Journal in Stories and Pictures

 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Book Review: A Soul as Cold as Frost by Jennifer Kropf

Image
    From the first page, I knew this was going to be something special. And it was even better than I expected. I’m not one to usually read fantasy novels, but the poetic descriptions of this magical world author Jennifer Kropf created sparkled. Her characters had depth and personality that had me rooting for them and enjoying getting to know them as the story progressed. Helen is transported into this winter land parallel to her home where she encounters all sorts of different creatures somewhat like human, but not. Her mission becomes a journey with her patrolman to save the Truth. It had a touch of The Lion, The Witch, & The Wardrobe aura, but such a unique story with its own charm and suspense. This book is one I won’t forget and will add to my list of favorites. I am looking forward to reading her sequel. Amazon / A Soul as Cold as Frost
Read more

Art Lovers

Image
(The house I grew up in, where my creative life began.) Since graduating from the Fashion Institute of Technology with a major in fashion design and illustration, I have had many interesting jobs. I painted the faces on mannequins; had freelance art jobs that nearly gave me a nervous breakdown meeting the deadlines; I tried to make stuffed clown patterns (a total fail); did magazine layouts for Bridal Guide Magazine while preparing my own wedding; worked as a house manager for a group home; became a homeschool mom for my five kiddos; worked as a medical records coordinator; and found my passion as an author and illustrator, writing novels and picture books. Now I also sell art prints in my Etsy store.  I love sketching, playing with colors and textures, and creating beautiful artwork, sometimes more realistic, sometimes more stylized like in my children's book illustrations. I'm obsessed with drawing birds. The endless variety reminds me of God's love in all he created. Hol...
Read more

Keyra, Queen Yorkie

Image
  Painting by Francy Judge   Keyra Judge passed away on February 7, 2022, in her home in Long Beach, New York. Born on September 9, 2009, she was over 12 in dog years and lovingly nicknamed, Pain-in-the-butt. She was the beloved daughter to her human parents, Gene and Francy; the adored sister of human siblings: Jordan, Aaron, Elijah and Stephen. She was tolerated by her human brother, Andrew who never truly forgave her for stealing his sandwich. She will also be missed by her doggy friends, Toby and Rosie.   Keyra was a Yorkie, large for her breed, but still small. And as some intelligent dog owner once said, “small dog, big personality.” Keyra attended the Academy of Barking, but she quit to pursue her dream of becoming a guard dog. Because of her Napoleon complex, she often tried to prove her toughness, barking in circles around a neighbor pit bull.   Her secret weakness was car rides. She got car sick. Every time. She looked embarrassed throwing up into a b...
Read more