Caught my own silence this morning and sat with it until breakfast

Six months ago a quiet kitchen set my teeth on edge — too much like the dark gap on radar before a blip reappears. Lately I've been practicing the other reading: silence as roommate, not threat. This morning I poured coffee, watched the steam do its slow column, and didn't fill the air with talk. Nothing dramatic. Just a retired controller finally learning to sit with the quiet instead of interrogating it.