By JACK GODBEY

Contributing Columnist

In this hectic world of juggling our job and family responsibilities, a moment of peace and quiet is sometimes hard to come by. Recently, I came home and found that my house was empty.

Everyone was out doing this or that and there I stood in the doorway, listening to the strange sound of silence. I instantly began to think of all the things that I could do. I could blast the stereo with my favorite song, I could run around the yard in my underwear or I could hang out with friends. Then, I thought for a moment and decided that the one thing I wanted to do to celebrate my moment of quietness was to just take a nap. I could almost hear my former 21-year-old self shaking his head in disgust at me, but a good undisturbed nap sounded great. I stretched out on the couch and waited for sweet sleep to find me. Suddenly, I heard my phone start ringing and of course, it was laying across the room, so I jumped up to answer it and was met with a conversation with Jabbar about my vehicle warranty. I hated to be rude, but Jabbar was eating up my time so our conversation had a sudden and quick end. I laid back down on

the couch and listened to the silence and started to drift off once more when I heard a knock at my door. I jumped up once again to answer the door, and politely answered that yes, I knew who Jesus was and no I was not interested in talking about it. I again returned to the couch, but was much too agitated to pretend to sleep. I was determined to lay there just to prove a point. Then it happened. My own kidneys turned against me so once again I jumped up and headed to the bathroom. At this point, I could feel the need for sleep running away from me and being replaced with frustration. I decided that if I were to just lay down and be still everything would work out. I went back over to the couch grumbling the whole way, and I could swear I could see the dog laughing at me as I lay there with eyes wide open. I decided that I would just get up and take care of some handyman jobs around the house. I had been meaning to change some filters and the like in the attic so I set the ladder up and started to climb. What happened next I don’t want to discuss. Let’s just say that a ladder with a 125-pound weight limit should not be utilized by a man that weighs over 200. I got up, and dusted myself off.  I heard my wife pull in the driveway and I came out to meet her and told her to never go shopping without me again, and

hugged her as if she had just rescued me from a deserted island. I realized how fortunate I am to have a family that is full of love, laughs, and is one where I am never truly alone, because I know that I can turn to them when I need someone to lean on. We should take time to appreciate our families and realize that there is no greater gift. Look around and appreciate those that care about you and do not allow our busy lives from showing how much you appreciate them. They are truly the most important thing.

Jack Godbey is a resident of Danville and is a published author.