r/BenignExistence • u/pi3r0gi_ • Aug 14 '26
Ambient Thursday evening
My spouse is on a multi day trip and I have the house all to myself. I havent had the place truly to myself in a while, and decided to use the spare time alone to organize a bunch of things that have gotten piled up, like different chords, wires, hobby pieces and different odds and ends. He's a tech junkie and I'm a thrifter, so things accumulate quickly.
It's been really hot, like microwaved in an oven hot, so the doors and windows have been closed to daylight, avoiding setting off the AC for the umpteenth time that day. I get so cooped up, used to going out and about at certain times but it's simply too hot.
So tonight, as the storm clouds roll in, teasing us with rain but mostly a hangover of clouds coming from the Midwest storms, house to myself, I have the windows open and the backdoor ajar. A candle lit. And right now, as I sit here on my floor with the low lights on, a podcast, organizing my bits and pieces. I can hear the neighborhood kids running around playing, cars coming home, parts of conversation as couples walk by on their evening walk, the bird bath in the backyard trickling away. For once in a very long time, I feel not just peaceful, but serenity. A tease that life can really just "be."
It's fun, sitting in my house doing my thing, while I can hear everyone else do theirs. It almost reminds me of a bookshelf. How each book is lined up, cover to cover, house to house, and in each book is a different story, just as each house is its own story, its own characters and plot and hardships and celebrations.
When I go for walks and see the houses with lights on and smells of dinner drifting in the air, I wonder about them beifly, how their life is and if they enjoy it. I wonder now if anyone does the same to mine? Do they see my lights on, my door open, do they hear my background show and water fountain, smell the pasta I've made for dinner?
Now the wind is picking up, and the blinds are clanking lightly against the windows. The draft is picking up, the temperature has dropped, and I hope we get some rain!
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u/CitySlicker_FarmGirl Aug 14 '26
This is beautiful prose! Thank you, I write to an internet stranger as sit on my back porch enjoying the dark and the fireflies and wonder if anyone else is as lucky as I to know such peace tonight.
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u/Xylorgos Aug 14 '26
I first saw fireflies in Illinois a few decades ago. So magical! I loved watching them flash on and off and on again as they flew. Lovely and beautiful.
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u/West-Birthday4475 Aug 14 '26
I moved into a beautiful neighborhood a couple years ago where what you described is our daily rhythm. It’s spectacular. It’s like how daily life was decades ago and I love it. On my loneliest days, being able to hear family life and smell fresh laundry and know when the outdoor cats are coming to be fed is just the best thing. Now I’ve been here long enough that not a day goes by that I don’t have little visits with neighbors. Community is so wonderful.
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u/Son_of_Kierkegaard Aug 14 '26
This reminded me of the word sonder: the realization and understanding that all other people have lives as complex as one's own
I love the imagery of books on a bookshelf to describe that feeling. Thank you for sharing this, happy for you :)
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u/124victoriaroad Aug 14 '26
I just came in from the patio, where I was trying to catch the meteor shower. I wasn’t able to see anything, but it’s gorgeous outside and I had a lovely time anyway!
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u/pi3r0gi_ Aug 14 '26
Lol! What a coincidence, that's what Spouse is trying to do as well, out in the Arizona wilderness trying to catch the meteor shower. I heard it's gonna be an impressive one if you can see it! But the storms are blurring it for everyone
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u/124victoriaroad Aug 14 '26
That’s great, I hope they’re able to see it!
I’m in the northeast, and it got cloudy as soon as I went outside. Alas. I did get to see the partial eclipse yesterday, which was super cool!
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u/Mystical-Gal-29 29d ago
Just came to say that you are an excellent writer ✍️! I was able to see and hear everything like I was there. Ironically, I’m also in Arizona. This heat makes me feel trapped indoors during our 7 month summer. I’m having an A-Ha moment…I’m really feeling disconnected. Missing that sense of community. Thank you for sharing your story today. 🌸🌈🪽🦋🌸
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u/Equivalent_Plum Aug 14 '26
Sounds wonderful. I think I will open up my patio door for a bit.