BY LEXI MOOREHEAD

A few thoughts about my recent move to a new city.

Milo, Mazi and I just moved to a new city. Our friends and family are happy for us but, naturally, concerned about our adjustments. Specifically, how is Milo adjusting to the new ratio of grass to concrete? Being the doting mother, choosing an apartment near a park was priority #3, right behind the distance to school and overall safety. For all of us, though, it’s not the concrete, public transit, or lack of familiarity that takes the most getting used to. It’s the sounds.

 Moreso, the change of sound. The absence of conversation in the kitchen, grandma’s TV turned up too loud, and mom laughing on a conference call. Replacing that normalcy are overheard neighbors, jackhammering, and occasional car horns. Not everything is so different, though.

The wind still sounds the same as it makes its way through branches and over blades of grass. Milo still barks to deter any would-be intruders. And the BBC Global News podcast still sounds as comforting as always – though the news seems to be starker. In all this, one thing has remained the same but is somehow different: silence.

In moments of silence, I am confronted with the consequences of my actions—that inescapable sound. Silence is where I notice the things that are missing, what they’ve been replaced by.

It will, undoubtedly, take all of us time to adjust. For now, we do our best to embrace the confrontation.