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| Found the problem |
This
month certainly started with a splash and a bang. Lots of banging. One
Friday morning my husband alerted me that there was no hot water. A quick check
of the hot water heater revealed the problem: the pilot light for the water heater was under water. A plumbing company very close to us got us set up with a new water heater amidst a lot of noise. The noise couldn’t be helped, of course, and we were thankful for the quick service. I was especially grateful for the calm and quiet atmosphere once the work was finished.
The following Monday,
our furnace was scheduled to be replaced. That destruction/construction
started at 7:30 a.m. and went continuously until 4:30 p.m. But wait,
there was more noise in store. Tuesday the furnace ducts were cleaned,
and those industrial vacuums are noisy!
As luck would have it, on Wednesday I was scheduled to work a very busy four-hour shift at the food bank to distribute food. Conversation is steady and often involves a lot of pointing and miming for our clients who speak little English.
By Thursday, I was so ready for a quiet day at home, for oleilu:
a calm, unhurried state of simply not doing, achieving, or planning, just the quiet act of existing in the moment. This was accompanied by several cups of hot tea and crystal bowl sounds.
Quiet and mental calmness help me prepare and enjoy the upcoming busy holiday season in order to fully embrace the blur of celebrations to come.
