things to do:

work, work, work

look, see shards of light on office wall; morning is breaking

mourn the fact that you never stopped to sleep

have this thought interrupted by the ringing of bells

think you died, and are the next angel being born

realize it's the front door

restart heart

answer door

retrieve very early morning FedEx

ahh ... the tickets

better than sleep, almost

put them in a not-so-safe place on your cluttered desk

step over stuff in true ballet form in order to do this

be careful not to disturb the art process that litters the carpet

look down at your toes in your grandma's pink slippers

(the extra pair she had saved back but never wore)

examine the works in progress

realize there is a fleck of red paper on your slipper

ponder its tear-shaped nature

put the "bloody tear" in one of the "to use" piles

wonder why red keeps accenting your work in a subtle fashion

smell coffee brewing

forget you even made coffee

think it's cool that someone made coffee

wonder who to thank

go get coffee

fill big cup

add two blue packets of fake sugar

"poof" the skim milk in your milk "poofer"

pour over steaming mug, forming high peaks

put your finger into one of the high peaks and let luci lick them (cat)

offer some to belle (the other cat) but she won't want any

remind yourself to quit offering it to her because she's too picky

give what belle didn't want to cj (the dog)

realize none of them should probably be spoiled on poofed milk

head off somewhere, balancing coffee and a huge mental "to do list"

set cup of coffee down because coffee = "oh, geez, i have to pee!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

go to bathroom (yada, yada, yada)

wash hands

do not look in mirror in case you are not there

come out to find funny little dog dancing

take the dog out to pee

consider that it would be funny if it came out skim, white and foamy

notice the sun is coming up out of the ground

note the gray-silver-white fog sitting on the marsh grass

the marsh is white and foamy, covered with poofs of skim

notice the fading yellow wild flowers poking through

watch the graduation of pale blue to pink sky

wonder if the sun will break through the low-lying fog

look up

see the moon (a crescent) has torn a hole in the morning sky

count the three stars that have leaked through

realize the sun *is* coming up and your slippers are wet with dew

feel the slack of the leash as the dog returns to you, having gone 1 and doo

make a mental note of where the doo is lying so you can scoop it later

also make a note to take a nap, before or after doo-scooping

go back inside to manage other shi* that could be hitting the fan

tickle junior high tall blond girl's toes to wake her up

go through the usual prompts of "make your toast and brush your teeth"

blah blah blah blah

wonder aloud if lunch is packed and if she really brushed her hair

wish you had a cup of coffee

find a cold one sitting on the ledge in the hall

mentally thank the person who left you this coffee, albeit cold, milk slightly poofed

wonder why someone left you hot coffee earlier and this current spirited elf leaves you cold shit

drink it

grab a bagel

set it down to say goodbye to 11-year-old

push kid out door

watch as dog and cats and bunny relax into a morning nap

wonder how a person (oops, animal) can nap when they have just gotten up

say the word nap over and over and over until it doesn't sound like a word

realize if you start laughing you won't stop, and that you will sound more like an animal than a person.

criss-cross back over all the stuff you stepped over before

realize you left the rest of your cold coffee and the bagel in the kitchen

wonder why the kitchen suddenly seems 50-billion miles away

sink down in chair

see someone has left you an opened, but mostly 3/4 full bottle of water.

drink some

stare at the flashing cursor on the notepad screen

grab mouse

minimize the notepad document titled "too young to know better"

while it disappears to the task bar, wonder whether the poem was too whatever?!?!

realize it doesn't matter now as it is out of sight for the time being

tell yourself you are not a freak just because you have 8-zillion things minimized on your task bar and that your task bar is 3 inches thick

realize that kids just like to pick on their mom and some day they will have a three-inch thick task bar too!

under your breath say, "so i multi-task ... sue me!"

then say, "gee, no wonder i had a stroke!"

realize that's sort of not funny and you are temping the fates who are already leaving you odd beverages about the house

get back to work

keep your mind off things

what little mind you have left after days of sleep deprivation.

(long post, i know, left it in the blog section, as well, so if you doubled back here, sorry for the repeat (and if you just got my "author broadcast as a subscriber, you are wondering, "why the heck didn't she attach this piece to it, and save us the double-whammy email!")

... just trying to hold my place as they say in this game of musical chairs.  i have just one chair, but this week i'm wearing about 10 different hats!

been busy ... not sure what day it is ... will be busy for a while longer yet ... then going on vacation ... then returning homeafter shock treatments, cryo baths and other behavior modification. just kidding, am taking a real vacation soon. more news and more coherent thought patterns from me in early october ... near as i can guess. i am still here, in and out, prior to my trip, just not able to find the time to post or comment much. will be somewhat quiet, as well upon my return, and then hopefully back in gear for crying out loud!