Even after the searching, showing, negotiating and selling are all said and done, there are a million things to consider. One night last week I had had enough. I turned off the TV and there it was…silence.

This silence was more than the absence of "American Idol." I could actually feel it. I held my baby and sat on the couch as waves of silence lapped against me. My boy noticed it too. He looked me in the face and calmly nestled into me.

"Let’s leave the TV off," I said to my wife as she joined us on the couch.

The feeling that enveloped us brought my uncle Frank to mind. Despite the rules for the flow of time, Uncle Frank seemed perpetually one age. In my memory, he was always old: light grey hair parted in the middle. He always donned a hat and always spoke softly.

He came to every family gathering and whenever my eyes found him, he was sitting in a comfy chair, smiling. He loved being with family. But also, we knew he was smiling to himself.

Uncle Frank was hard of hearing and one of his favorite things to do was to sit amongst the family with a drink and turn off his hearing aid.

Whenever he was engaged in a conversation, he would just nod and smile. We’d laugh that he had no idea what we were saying. But in this silent moment with my family, I could see that he knew exactly what he was doing.

Who would blame an old man for not keeping up with the conversation? But being surrounded by loved ones with no pressure to entertain – or even remember – must have felt like sunlight.

My wife loves to have the sunlight stream across her face as she sits with her eyes closed on the bus heading to work. She turns on her iPod and tunes out the world.

It’s a chance to unwind. Sometimes, I forget that I need to decompress. I handle my choices like checklists. Should I wash the car or do the laundry?

But choosing to "do nothing," could also be a smart choice. I could even view it as still taking charge and getting something done.

Taking time to reset could better help me choose the mood I want to be in. The time out could help me figure out how I want to interpret the world around me as opposed to reacting while I’m behind the 8 ball.

As I turned the TV back on, that Energizer bunny looked more stoic than happy behind those shades, banging that drum.

If I ever run into him, I’m going to show him what I found -- the off switch!