The apartment above me has finally been purchased after months and months of being empty.  You may recall my former neighbor was…something…reliant…addicted.  She was in trouble. The new owners are a lovely family with two young girls.  Now that the moving and fixing and tiling and hammering and sawing are mostly done, the sounds from above are giggly and joyous and alive.  A far cry from the former sounds…or lack of sounds which could be even more disturbing.

One of the more aggravating sounds from what seems like long ago and far away was the sound of the air conditioner running…constantly…right outside my deck.  You know the deck that looks out on the enchanted forest, the deck that induces long-lasting exhales, the deck that makes coffee taste better, the one that has all that antique-salvaged-from-estate-sales furniture. Seems part of addiction is that you don’t know how to work the thermostat…but you do know how to wear three sweatshirts.  It was a very sad state of affairs.   As soon as the air conditioner would turn off it seemed to turn back on.

Now, enter a young family on a budget….ahhhhh.  The air turns on and off at reasonable intervals but even better is the epiphany moment when I heard the wind chimes tinkle.  I had never hung the wind chimes from this particular hook before, they always hung inside, so when I just threw them up to get them….someplace. I didn’t even think about the fact that each time the air conditioner runs it sends up just enough breeze to move the chimes.  Double ahhhhh.

The wind chimes were a little house warming gift from my sister.  Meant to induce peace, which I sorely needed to induce at that time, I hung them in the pass through between my kitchen and dining area.  Every time I needed a little peace I would just pucker up and blow and the sound would help me switch direction.  Toward peace. A lifesaver many a time; this little set of chimes continues its peacekeeping legacy on my beloved deck.