Time Out

I know that I have a hard time not feeling guilty about doing nothing - even if I'm sick - because there always seems to be millions of things to accomplish but very little time to work on all that needs tending to. Today, for instance, I slept most of the day, which I cannot do unless I am sick and really need the rest. Usually I am up and about too much, with way too little sleep, and often try to get things done in the wee small hours of the morning while the rest of the world is fast asleep. I have always been amazed at those people who manage their lives and schedules so tightly they have things like sleeping very tightly planned and they are actually able to adhere to their plans to that extent. My life has never been that tidy. Sometimes I really wonder what the rest of the world is up to, assuming there are other persons awake during those same hours I often occupy. What sorts of things do you do - please, nothing criminal or too strange! - to while away the hours while others sleep?

( a poem to my nephew upon his birth and our first meeting)
Sister's Child

You are so soft and small
And my heart melts
As you look up at me,
And squeak,
and squint,
And grimace gummily.
You are a short few minutes old
And have made my heart yours
For an eternity,
Small Bradley.

Nativity

New eyes,
Blue eyes,
One hour old.
Meeting my eyes,
Green eyes,
With the mystic hold
Of countless stories
Not yet told.