So Quiet

According to Google Maps, our old house was located 250 feet away from Interstate 40. Between our house and I-40 sat a row of houses, behind which sat a retaining wall — a combination that absorbed the brunt of the noise. During the day, combined with all the other normal sounds of a neighborhood, you would never notice it. At night, especially when standing in my driveway where the side of my house didn’t act as an additional barrier, you could hear the hum of interstate traffic flowing by.

Our new house is different. Behind our new house sits a pond. It’s 500 feet across, 650 feet wide, and roughly triangular in shape. Looking out my back door, my nearest neighbor is 450 feet away. Our next door neighbors are, of course, much closer — but yeah, especially early in the morning, the backyard is eerily quiet.

Because we have a bit further to drive to the bus stop now, we’re currently leaving the house at 6:45am so that the kids can catch the bus at 7:05am. At 6:45am, our neighborhood is silent. Every morning reminds me of those winter mornings where a foot of snow has fallen the night before and there isn’t a single car on the road. I almost feel guilty each morning when starting my truck. Even though it’s no louder than the average car, I feel like it can be heard for miles.

I never felt like our old neighborhood was noisy, and I still don’t. I just feel like our new neighborhood, especially early in the morning and late at night, is really, really quiet.