Quiet

I could tell you that the reason this blog has been quiet is that I don't have much to say, but that is rarely true. I am a person with lots to say about lots of things. (My husband knows this well).

However, I think this nasty, incredibly harsh winter has taken its toll on a lot of people. Those who have been hit with snowstorm after snowstorm and temperatures below freezing on a continuous basis know what I'm talking about.

Bottom line: I'm tired of being cold. And I know I'm not alone. People are weary of the weather, and I'm no exception. It's now affecting my mood. I'm ready for spring!

But that's not the only reason the blog has been quiet.

The other reason is that I'm searching for the quiet I used to have two or three years ago, before my husband got cable t.v. and a giant flat-screen t.v. hooked up to a powerfully loud Bose speaker. Way back when, I blogged about how quiet my life had become. I didn't watch t.v., but only had a DVD player. My house was blissfully serene. If I wanted to watch a television show, I found it on my computer and watched it at my leisure. But the t.v. certainly wasn't on 24/7.

Since my husband is a garage/car/get your hands dirty type of guy, this winter has driven him bonkers. He wants to be out in his garage working and tinkering, and he can't. (Our garage isn't heated). So he ends up spending most of his time downstairs watching t.v. And if I want to spend time with him, I end up watching t.v., too.

Which means I've become addicted to t.v. shows, the latest being Sherlock starring Benedict Cumberbatch (which has led to an entirely new obsession with the British actor). Of course, watching t.v. or movies isn't all bad. In fact, after a very challenging day at work, I don't mind sitting in front of the t.v. for a few hours to relax. Friday nights are movie night for our family, complete with pizza and snacks, and I love being able to enjoy a movie without worrying about getting up for work in the morning.

But it's not just the noise, literally and figuratively, from the television that has started to consume me. Add the constant noise of social media to the mix - keeping up with Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, my blog, and email - and my head is about ready to explode.

It almost happened last night.

Since my daughter was sick yesterday, I worked from home, which means I sat in front of the computer all day, only on my living room couch instead of my desk. Spending that much time on the computer finally got to me and, in a dramatic departure from my normal routine, I decided to go exercise. My body simply couldn't take sitting in front of a screen anymore. It needed to move.

Later that night, I shut off my laptop and went into my bedroom. No radio playing. No t.v.  Just silence. I picked up the book I'm reading, Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier, and determined to focus on the story and nothing else. No getting distracted by any type of social media notification.

It was heavenly.

And I realized that my brain had become consumed with noise, and it needs to stop.

I have to believe I am not the only one who feels like this. My recent social media fast (over one weekend) showed me that I wasn't alone in feeling overwhelmed by today's technology.

So, what's the solution? I'm not sure. But I think I have to be pro-active in finding one.

Wish me luck.