Upside Down Holidays & The Noises of my Home

I’ve been staring at my screen for a while now, wondering what to say and wanting so desperately to be plunged into the blissful feeling of busy typing fingers and flowing thoughts.

But instead, I’ve been sitting here wondering if quarantine has finally sapped all useful thoughts from my brain. I am so distracted, so very distracted… 

By the clanking of the dishes that pile higher and higher in the sink. 

By the loud ding of the washing machine letting me know it is time to flip the clothes into the dryer. 

By the dog needing to go out for the 100th time in the last 5 minutes.

By the school video calls murmuring along in the background.

By my husband’s lunch prepping, loud chewing ;-), coffee making kitchen trips. 

By the sojourns of my family members one by one looking for some attention. A plea in their stomp, stomping towards me (whether furry or not) for some sort of respite from the long days marked by hours spent in the same place, with the same people.  

This is my life. These are my noises. And now that I’m still and listening, I realize that these are what I have to offer today. My distractions, the noises of my home, that’s what I’ve got to give. 

What do you hear?

The rattle of the truck bouncing along the road as the driver does the essential work of keeping us well supplied? The bickering of toddlers? The cries of a small baby? The squirrels scurrying around burying their nuts for the winter ahead? The birds squawking from above? Or maybe it is silence you hear? Quiet from a community taking a break again? The sound of water boiling in a tea kettle ready to fill your cup?

I’m sitting at my desk. 

Waiting. 

Waiting. 

Distracted by the noises...

And now I realize…waiting for what? What am I waiting for that isn’t right here in the everyday sounds around me?

These moments, the seemingly mundane, the “distractions,” they are the inspiration. They are a reminder that life is still happening whether we feel in control of it or not. God is moving in the people and world around us and perhaps the best we can do right now is listen for this presence.

I don’t have the words to make the upside-down holidays feel normal or less daunting. I haven’t been struck with a flurry of inspired words while I sit here. But I do have my noises and so those are what I share today. The everyday. This day.

As we celebrate Thanksgiving this week, even though it might be in a way that feels foreign and strange, maybe it is our chance to be a bit more still, a bit more present, and hear something new in the sounds around us. Perhaps, instead of waiting for what’s around the corner, we strike a new chord that rings the melody of gratitude into our lives in an unexpected kind of way.  

And so, I’m not sitting here waiting anymore. Instead, I’m simply giving you the noises of my home. There is so much to be grateful for in all of them!

Happy Thanksgiving!