On Saturday, I was on campus for Make A Difference Day. The coordinator for the program had volunteered to help with our ornament creation project and we had a roomful of students busily working on arts and crafts. I did some origami, tried to keep the glitter glue under control – and did the heavy lifting when it was time to clean-up. It was a lot of work, but I’m glad we did it. My committee for work will be sending lots of ornaments to troops overseas and I’m glad we could contribute.
——————-
Since it was such a nice day, I got outside and did some yardwork when I got home. I was in and out of the house and Thunder(cat) decided to make his move. The screen door was just a little too slow to close and he darted out into the backyard. I was right there and went after him – swearing all the way. He stopped a few feet out into the yard – as though stunned that it had worked – and I caught him. He didn’t seem too upset, but did try a couple more times for the door.
I dunno what I’d do without my little furry buddy, but I luckily didn’t have to find out. We’ve been keeping an extra eye on each other since then – him waiting for an opportunity for mischief and me waiting for the inevitable mischief. It’s kinda like the cold war. Except, you know, on a much smaller scale. And with a cat.
——————-
He kept me company for a bit this evening as I played a game on my phone. I’m not a heavy phone user and can sometimes go without charging it over-night. When this happens, I’ll run the battery all the way down to help condition it on the second day. I dunno if that’s still a thing – but it seems like a good idea.
I did this one night last week and played a game for a bit. When I’d been warned a couple of times that my battery was almost gone, I switched over to youtube and watched videos until it was done. In the middle of a video, the battery finally gave out.
The screen darkened. a light blinked, and with a final buzz the phone sang a little four note song and shut down.
The CD player in the other room had finished up, the laundry was long done, and the furnace was quiet. I sat in the still and darkened house and reflected for a moment.
When I manually put the phone to sleep, it does the same thing. And I could hold the button and start it right back up. When the battery dies, there’s no coming back until I’ve charged it again.
So, when my time finally comes – hopefully many years down the road – I’m hoping I go out with as much dignity as my phone. A little shiver, the light fading from my eyes, and then a little song before my own battery dies.
I don’t know what put me in such a maudlin (vocab word!) mood – perhaps it was the quiet of the night and the peaceful silence.
My phone tonight it at 58% and in an hour or so I’ll manually power it off to sleep on the charger. Tomorrow, we’ll wake up and face the day. And maybe we’ll sing a little song as we do so.
Fitting, perhaps, that it sings the same song as it dies, sleeps, and wakes again. We humans should all be so lucky.