Thriving...in Spite of It

The other day, I was zipping from room to room, executing a quick mid-week tidy-up on the house with Olympian-like exertion, minus the grace, coordination and spandex. It was one of those spontaneous flurries of activity that bursts forth from a state of mind that’s more agitated than active—one of those moments when you lift your eyes from the task at hand to face a gargantuan to-do list, towering over you like Godzilla. With Godzilla in front of you, and a little housework behind you, it’s a no-brainer which one you had rather face: the smaller dragon, of course.  So, off I went, in all the fervor and fever of productive procrastination*, cheerfully confident in the forthcoming victory over the little dragon. I was slayin’ it. I usually spend very little time in the formal living and dining rooms, situated in the front of the house, beyond the blessed stairs, as I prefer the comfort of the breakfast table and easy chair in rooms situated in the back of the house, near the kit...

I start every morning on the back porch with a cup of coffee and my Bible. Even though I live in the suburbs, there is no shortage of wildlife activity at that time of day (and I'm not talking about the neighborhood party animals dragging themselves home).  While a squirrel and bluejay engage in their daily skirmish on top of the fence, squabbling over whatever tidbit the squirrel has just found, birdsongs fill the trees. Occasionally, one of them will come out his cover and find a perch on a nearby rooftop, so he can maximize his volume well enough to irritate even the soundest sleeping  of all the snoozing teenagers on the block. It's a cheerful setting. Over the past few weeks, though, my curiosity began to grow. Whenever I heard a bird singing, I would wonder, is that the robin, or the cardinal? Or is it the mockingbird, imitating one or both of them?  The App Store is a wonderful thing...almost as wonderful as Wikipedia ;) In the modern style of self-educ...