The sound...of silence

I've been feeling the need for space lately. Maybe it's the fresh air of spring, or maybe it's how smothered I feel sometimes by Lily's abundance of energy.

Whatever the case, I'm feeling the way I'm feeling.

I got Liam to move the computer out of the kitchen and into the office. Our kitchen feels so big now. When the kids play it echoes. I moved the kitchen table and there's all this space. There's also this juicy silence without the constant hum of the computer.

I've been listening to the radio less and less. I'm listening to my cd's a bit, but more and more I'm just turning everything off. When I'm alone the utter silence is refreshing. When the kids are around I more fully pay attention to what they're saying.

I've started cleaning out the storage room with plans to have a garage sale. Goodbye unused baby stuff. (Does this mean we're done having kids? I don't know...) See you later shoes that I never wear but wish I did.

I bought a book tonight about healthy homes. It has sections about the air, light, and color of rooms. It touches on feng shui and environmentalism. I've been drooling over the pictures of beautiful homes. Some have been built into hillsides, others have been made out of renovated warehouses or barns. I love it.

I listened to a radio program recently where the guest discussed the idea of slow homes. It's based on the idea of the slow food movement. The idea is that we should value our homes for what they are and not the money they represent or the expectation of re-sale. We should appreciate that our homes are the places where we're raising our children and creating memories. I've been doing a lot of thinking about what this means to me and how this translates into how our home will be set up. What would our home look like if it truly reflected our needs and desires without conforming to society's expectations and influence?