It’s a Saturday night. The house is eerily quiet and still. For the first time, I can hear the house. Noises that once fell in the background are calling for attention. It seems that I can identify every moving part by the noise it creates. Each component has it own personality. The creaks of the house settling adds to the score.  

I find this chorus a bit unsettling. I try to catch an early night of sleep. After a short slumber, I awake exactly at 11:30. I have a strange feeling that someone is standing at the foot of my bed. But there is no one. I am alone.  

I toss and turn only to find that I am no longer sleepy. A restless feeling overcomes me. I can no longer lay here.

I try to find comfort in a deck chair on the back deck with a glass of wine.  The wine tastes different. Although I am sure the difference only is present in my mind. The taste of wine tends to take on the characteristics of  the company for which it is shared.

The night air is still and quiet. I can hear the squirrels move through the trees. Looking upwards, through the branches and leaves, I see the stars sparkle. The lights of a commercial airliner move slowly cross the sky.

The yard below is dark. Faint images of trees and brush are illuminated by the night sky. The leaves and branches are still. Periodically a faint breeze moves through stirring the brush carring a sweet fragrance from the flower beds

Breaking through the stillness of the night, I hear the faint sounds of a distant radio or TV. It is someone singing. Not a perfect pitch but full of emotion. 

I find a peace here that is calming and washing. The noises in my mind are settling as to bow before the wonderful view.

It would seem that my life has taken a new direction. My schedule is no long set out before me. I can finally work on the projects that have been pushed aside. The garage walls need a new coat of paint. The lawn in the back yard needs seeding. The flower beds need attention.

Although there is plenty work around the house, I feel as if there is unfinished business elsewhere. Perhaps I need to once again review my priorities. Is it the house or something/someone else that needs my attention?

Perhaps it is what will bring me peace and happiness. Perhaps it is what will bring another peace and happiness.

I am sure the night sky holds the answers to my questions. I am bound to spend more time below the lights of the stars until the answers are as clear as the night sky.