Yes, all this makes me stop to think. Life is wonderful.

Life can be full of relatively inconsequential tasks. But if something bothers me, I take care of it. Little things. Like cleaning the house. If my mind gets out of sorts, or cluttered, often it may be that I've let my surrondings get cluttered, too. So I spend a few hours cleaning and organizing things around the house. I scrub the floors. I get everything reasonably neat. And it has a quelling effect. Tends to relax me. When my lunch counter is clear of clutter, I can sit down and read the newspaper on a clean counter. And then I try to eat and read slowly. Ever so slowly. I give myself time to ponder. And maybe I have music. In the background. Better than the TV. Right now, my desk is pretty much free of clutter. And just to the right of me, I've placed a cushion on the desk. On which dear cat Loverboy luxuriates. And I reach over and pet him. And he looks lovingly at me. And he licks the top of my hand with his sandpaper tongue. He can't lie on top of the computer screen anymore. Because it's a flat screen. Not the bulky one I used to have. But the printer/scanner is flat. And he can lie on top of that. And he does. Sometimes. Anyway, I get comfort from Loverboy. Big comfort. I love him. And his mate, Chenuska, too. Albeit, she's more standoffish. But that's just her personality. And I accept that. She's her own self. Sometimes, she needs cuddling. She crawls into bed with me, and digs deep under the covers. To stay warm. And to nestle against my feet and legs. Yes, all this makes me stop to think. Life is wonderful. --Jim Broede