Entering the Quiet Zone

I spent the night alone last night.  Well, I did let Kea sleep in the house.  She spent a little time on the bed, but moved to the living room sometime before I finally fell asleep.  

Funny how your ears pick up on sounds when you're home alone, and a long night lies ahead. After climbing into bed, I could hear banging somewhere, and there was no explanation.  All doors were locked---every way that doors can be locked.  

Those locks don't get a lot of action when more than one person is here.

The second banging noise occurred just as I was dozing off the first time.  Then, I was wide awake.  I decided Kea needed to come inside to give me confidence enough to turn my mind off and get the first real night's sleep in several days.  We kept late hours during ICE (Annie's Idaho Cultural Experience), and I always get up at 5 a.m.

My body was feeling the need for a good night's rest.  Surely Kea's presence would do that for me. 

A house that had served as bustling headquarters for as many as 17 people at a time suddenly turned into an empty chamber for one fraidy cat and her dog. 

The Seattle-ites and Libby-ites had gone.  And, Bill had taken off with the New Old Motorhome to spend the night by a fishing stream.  When the girls moved out, Bill moved in, almost instantly.  After all, he had spent a week priming that new-old RV for some action.  

Hotel for three young women for three days and then his getaway rig to Smith Creek.  

He took Kiwi with him.  He hoped to make it there and hoped to get some late-afternoon and evening fly fishing at the remote area where he received his introduction to Idaho's Federal forests.

Bill worked his first summer in Idaho with the U.S. Forest Service at Smith Creek, up near the Canadian border on the Kootenai Valley's west side.

That was the first summer we were married, too, and he was gone a lot.  That summer I heard a lot of noises and things going bump in the night---some real, some surely imagined.  

I know for sure, however, that I did not imagine the mouse than ran between the blankets one night.  And, Bill had told me about hearing a cougar out there on Lakeshore Drive one night before we were married.

So, my imagination ran wild five nights a week while he was off cruising timber at Smith Creek.  Some stuff never changes.  I don't like being alone at night after 36-plus years of marriage any more than I did in 1974.

But Kea and I managed last night.  Her presence told my brain that it was okay to drift off into Never Neverland, so I did.  

And, now I'm up after a so-so night's sleep.  I think my body didn't really rest because it was hyped up from that tremendous Boise State victory on the national stage last night.  After a fourth quarter of near resignation that the Broncos may lose this one, they pulled off another "Bronco."

They won by three points after a thrilling touchdown in the last minute.  Broncos tend to win, and they tend to keep their fans on the edge while they're pulling off their many, many victories.  I wonder if the Broncos will finally "get respect" after last night's win.

Anyway, I came home from Willie and Debbie's pretty revved up about Boise State.  So, I'm sure that had something to do with my uneasy sleep.

This morning, it's the Quiet Zone here for other reasons.  It's the first day of school.  That means a lot of the spontaneous hubbub which we've experienced throughout the summer will be reserved for weekends.  The pups will come today because both Willie and Debbie will be working on a regular basis again.

Once they arrive, it will again be quiet.  And, it takes some time getting used to the silence as new routines begin and time gets filled up with different activities.  I'll still be watering flowers and veggies----for a while anyway.  And, I'll still be mowing the lawn, but fall activities, like riding my horses and painting fence will soon take center stage.

And, those are often quiet activities.  I like that kind of quiet solitude, but I doubt that I'll ever embrace the thought of being "home alone" at night.  Thank God for Kea.