Sounds of Home

“This door knob definitely needs some WD-40”, I said to my husband this morning.

WD-40 fixes any kind of squeak anyone might have. As I thought about that, I began to think about the different sounds in a home; sounds that we take for granted but would be missed if they were no longer there.

The familiar squeak in the floor in the hallway at night lets me know that my husband is up checking the temperature on our furnace or air conditioner depending on the season. So, I lie awake until he crawls back into bed knowing that the comfort of our room is on the way.

I think back to the squeaking floor in the hallway of our first house. After a long day with a crying baby, I would be trying to get some much needed rest. The squeaking floor and his gentle hum and a quiet child let me know that her Daddy was walking the floor and calming her before laying her back into her crib.

I miss those times.

I remember the sounds of Daughter # 1 and # 2 opening the front door at night. This was a comforting sound because I knew they had made it home safely from a ballgame, a friend’s home or a date. Then the tiptoed walk and the squeak in the floor in the hallway to our bedroom; the quiet tapping on our door and a whispered “Mom, are you awake?” assured me that, yet again, I would gladly listen to their tales of the evening.

I miss those shared confidences.

The sounds of a vehicle pulling into a driveway on a snowy night assured me that my husband had made it back from a hunting trip or a meeting some distance way. The key in the lock let me know that our family was together again and I could rest.

The sound of thunder and the flash of lightening in the middle of the night always was concerning. Would this be the night we would make our way to the den; open the door to our cellar and take refuge until the storm passed?

“Think I hear thunder so I’ll get up and see what it looks like outside,” my sleepy husband would say. Then I would hear the squeaky floor in the dining room as he made his way to look out toward the southwest. And, I knew that everything would be fine because he was looking out for us.

I take comfort in this.

The squeak of the kitchen floor in the early morning hours lets me know my husband is up for the day. And, very soon I hear the perking of the coffee pot and the opening and closing of cabinet doors. And, I lie there listening to the birds beginning to sing their morning song and my soul is blessed.

I cherish those times.....

Familiar sounds are part of a home. They are part of the memories we cherish through life.

Psalm 104:12- “The birds of the sky nest by the waters; they sing among the branches.” NIV