I haven't started writing.
Mostly, I'm just listening to the kitchen clock tick.
It's strange, I think, that this sound doesn't bother me. Never bothers me.
Because I am kind of sensitive about sounds.
I hate the sound of other people drinking, for example (shudder). I have trouble concentrating in a quiet room if someone, somewhere, is breathing too loud (ugh, shhhhh). Repetitive noises quickly grate on my nerves (sorry, but your foot tapping is a jackhammer on my soul. could you stop?). I can't sleep if there are any unusual noises at all (hello white noise, my love).
But this clock? For some reason, it's okay.
Even on nights when I simply cannot sleep and the only thing that helps is moving onto the couch in the living room for a new scene to try again to get some shut-eye -- even then, the clock's ticking is either something I don't notice at all or a sound I end up finding soothing.
Perhaps this is because during the day, with so much activity and movement and sound in the house (because of all the people (6) and dogs (2) who live in this small space), the ticking is completely covered under the cacophony of daily life.
But in the early mornings, when it has for years been my habit to sit with my notebook on my lap and a cup of coffee in my hand (sometimes writing, sometimes just staring sleepily into my cup), the clock sings the soundtrack of my silence.
When my girls were much younger, this was one of the only times I truly had to myself, so it was sacred. Now that no one needs me quite so much anymore, I'm not so desperate for or possessive about my alone time.
But there's still something special about that slip of time just after waking, before I'm pulled into the flow of my day.
It's the time when I'm most still. Most settled. Most at the surface of myself, before my mind has gotten buried under the duties of the day.
And maybe, on nights when sleeplessness grips my mind, moving to the couch solves my problems when nothing else seems to help simply because the sound of the clock is a signal to my psyche that I'm in a sacred space.
(Posting more frequently brought to you by inspiration from a blogging friend. I've always loved her writing voice. )
