The room was a bit chilly, in spite of the roaring fire in the kitchen, but the waterbed was warm, soft, and comfortable. The person half buried under the large, colorful comforter was oblivious to … everything! … but what was in front of her …

The Animal Crossing game was becoming the center of attraction … on a more and more frequent basis. That sudden realization caused the woman to temporarily lose touch with the game as she let her eyes glaze over and worried yet again that she wasn’t spending as much time on her computer interests anymore. But … if she were to start spending her free time on the computer again, what should she work on? Her favorite AardwolfMUD character, the mud building and coding she wanted to do (but was always a bit nervous about starting), the blogging she’d been promising to do f.o.r.e.v.e.r … ??? …

… but then again, there was also that yummy bread she could be baking … or maybe even a pie … or the crocheting on that lovely afghan for the grand-baby which had become such a looooong project …

The inner peace and quiet she had been experiencing vanished like a cherry pie at a pot luck as each of the “would-be-projects” began vying for 1^st place in the “Ohhhh! That sounds like fun! Let’s do THAT one!” category.

And so, she wondered … let’s narrow it down – which one of those really was the most important task to tackle?

Just then, trying to escape from the tumult of guilt trips careening through her head, she took refuge in the first sensations that penetrated her consciousness …

… they were warm … and soft … and made quiet whuffling sounds …

The woman lifted the DSi and peered underneath it to get a glimpse of the source of those sensations and sounds. It was laying on her tummy – a tiny little beagle, soft brown eyes at half mast, and looking so trusting and loving that she simply couldn’t break her gaze away from the heart squeezing tableau. Without thinking, she closed the DSi, and set it aside. For the first time, she became aware of how heavy and warm the sleepy little bundle felt, and as she ran her fingers through the soft warm fur of the drowsy little puppy, she slowly became aware that the cold air was tracing wet trickles down both of her cheeks.

Just at that moment, the cacophony filling her head dropped to less than a whisper, and her question was answered in one simple thought which came with marvelous clarity and cogency:

Posted: Friday, January 1st, 2010 at 3:47 am under: HIDDEN, Musings. Comment Feed (RSS 2.0). Interact: Comment.