This Old House

I'm sitting down writing because I'm stalling. There are so many things I have to do that thinking about getting them done overwhelms me. Of course I could just start on one and that would be a step in the right direction, but I need motivation. I just had a second cup of coffee, which is a great motivator for me when the caffeine kicks in, so I'm hoping to jump up and get started anytime now. That's usually the way I work, trying to do everything while I have a burst of energy rather than a slow, steady progression toward my goal.

My focus today is on getting the house cleaned and doing some painting that needs done. I don't live in a luxurious mansion, and when it's cluttered it reminds me of one of those houses on that show about people who are pack rats, Hoarders, I think is the name. Well, maybe not quite that bad, but it looks well on the way sometimes. A lot of the time I have to stop and tell myself that there are people essentially living in an indoor garbage dump (quite a few in this area, actually)and I shouldn't worry so much about the appearance of this place. In fact, there are a lot of aspects of my life which I view with a pessimistic eye most of the time, and fail to see the treasure underneath. A professor of mine brought in various denominations of foreign currency last week, and one of the pieces he brought was a Spanish silver coin. He'd been snorkeling off the Florida coast and found a clump of what he thought was trash. Being an ecology-minded person he threw it in his boat to dispose of it later, only to discover that it was a wad of silver coins dated 1622, most of which he sold for a tidy sum. My house isn't worth as much as those silver coins, but it is home, and it's hard to put a price on that, no matter what the condition.

Days of Boredom and Despair

The gloomiest of days is upon me. Not only the overcast sky above me, but my mood, which just seems to be getting more depressed as the day goes on. I drive down the road and far ahead I see a single beam of sunlight break through the thick clouds, looking very much like a phaser beam shot from the Enterprise on Captain Kirk's command. I'm thinking that at least someone up ahead is having a break from this depressing day. Soon the clouds block out the sunbeam and I drive on into a mist that turns to a light rain. With seemingly no end to this dark grey that has taken over my soul and this afternoon's drive I round a bend in the road, only to be bathed in brilliant sunlight shining down on me, the dark clouds parting as if God Himself looked down and took pity on me, sending a sign telling me to cheer up. And it works. Those few seconds of glorious sunlight on this most dismal of days changes my entire outlook on the day, and I drive on in an almost cheerful mood.