The Virtue of Wool Gathering

I was so pleased to finally be able to help Thesha out a little. Last night I fell sound asleep at eight o'clock or so, but when I came to around 1:30, I decided to head over to rock the baby if need be. Poor Smudge had not had a great time the previous night, and, of course, that means that Thesha didn't either. In the event, I got over there just after two o'clock, just in time for rocking duty because Smudge was just finishing up a post-midnight snack.

She was a bit fussy for a while, but the old fella was able to keep her pretty calm through those spells, and then she rested quite well for the next few hours. Mom stumbled out of bed around six o'clock to find Smudge and Grampa still rocking and enjoying ourselves. It really pleased me to help Mom get a good night's rest. Frequently, due to silly sleep patterns, I am available at night, but lately I've been tired and crashing early and deeply — just when poor Mom could use a wee bit of assistance. However, it worked out well last night, especially since Theboy had taken the early shift. As a result, Thesha pretty well got the traditional eight hours, as did I because when I got home, I tumbled for almost another four hours.

The odd thing is that, at least to some extent, I can do that sort of thing (rock for hours) without getting too bored. My mind wanders about the universe as it will, and the time goes fairly quickly or at least more quickly than many would imagine ... although keeping the aches and pains at bay from being relatively immobile can make it stretch out a bit. It makes me think of going to high school where the administrators determined that the best punishment was to enforce forty minutes of strict silence after school. Not that I got all that many detentions, but I had my share, and, when I did, they didn't bother me too much. In fact, they were usually over before I knew it.

So, my propensity to wool gather does work for me on occasion, and, should we ever meet, kindly overlook the faraway gaze that overcomes me from time to time. It's just the way it is and not to be taken personally.