I love Columbus Day. Inexplicably, it’s one of the holidays I get off from work, even though I’m not employed by a bank, the government, or the post office. Even my husband, who DOES work for a local city government, has to work today. And the kids have school.

Is it obvious yet why I love Columbus Day? I love it for the rarity of its exquisite, perfect, blessed silence. No TV. No music. No bickering. No interruptions. No nothing. Just me enjoying the house all to myself and basking in the pure, unadulterated solitude.

To me, that silence sounds a lot like reading. And writing. And reflecting. And praying. And utter stillness before God. So if anyone is looking for me today, that’s where I’ll be.