What’s That Noise? Oh,… It’s Life!

My house has been dead silent for more than 3 years, especially the upstairs part of the house. There were few sounds unless me or the TV made them. When Kendal visits, there is always laughter and joy, but as soon as she’d leave, the silence returned. Tim was 6 ft 2 inches tall, and when he walked around the house, you knew he was there. The floor creaked in spots when he walked, but the greatest sounds were his laughter.

People have always said I don’t need a lot of sleep, and while that is true, a good night’s sleep has been hard to come by since I’ve been alone. It’s possible that that’s all about to change. After 5 1/2 months of renovation, I officially became a landlord this week when my renter moved into the top floor of my home on Thursday. I don’t think she moved much in on Thursday as I didn’t see any furniture and no car was in the driveway. But I knew she was here because I heard the sound of footsteps above my head. I remember smiling broadly though at the time I didn’t really understand why. It was a long week so I went to bed fairly early on Friday night. One of the last things I remember before falling asleep was the creaking floor caused by footsteps. The next thing I knew I woke up Saturday morning feeling better than I’ve felt in a long time. I felt rested and calm and UNAFRAID. I’ve never liked the dark and I believe that living alone scared me a little. So the sound of footsteps Friday night brought me a peace I hadn’t known since July of 2017. How much peace did it bring? I was shocked when I looked at my FitBit and discovered that I’d slept 8 hours and 5 minutes last night. I don’t know the last time I slept that long.

This evening I took my cousin JoAnne out for a birthday dinner. When we returned from dinner, there wasn’t a parking space to be had in front of my house and a moving truck was in the driveway. Clearly my renter’s furniture had arrived. We did some brief introductions and I learned my renter is one of six siblings and they grew up in SC. As I retreated to my lower level home and settled in for the evening, I couldn’t stop smiling. Above my head my renter and her siblings were laughing and talking as they moved pieces of furniture around. It was glorious chaos and I loved it. These are clearly people who love each other. I haven’t heard sounds like that since the Veneys last came over for Thanksgiving dinner. This house used to be loud … Tim laughing uncontrollably over nothing, which caused me to laugh harder… Tim telling a joke and starting to laugh before he even finished the punchline. Tim yelling at the tv during sports events or movies and me yelling along with him.

For me, hearing my renter move furniture and laugh with her siblings is something that’s been missing in my home for a long time. For me, it’s not noise – it’s life! When I first thought of renting part of my house almost two years ago, my only goal was to use that money to fund my travels. Who knew that one of the greatest benefits would be that in Tim’s favorite part of the house the floor would creak again, and there’d be laughter again. I’m grateful for my renter, and I thank God that my house is alive again!

 

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