Cats, Gnats, and Where You Ats?

This afternoon Henry the cat took a nap with me. Later this evening, he jumped up into the Foosball table at which Jono and I were playing. He laid down between the bars and batted the ball around like he was playing. And now, as I type this, he is sitting between me and the keyboard watching the mouse move and the cursor blink. Oh, just now he has run off to go smell something.

I am planning to take my family, except the cats, to Honduras for six or seven weeks this summer. I'm hoping one of my students can watch the house for me and take care of the cats. Arg. Sometimes when I think about all that has to be done, all that has to be prearranged and planned, I get overwhelmed. But it's funny, I do this every year. This year involves a bit more because of the duration and the fact that I'm taking the family, but about this time every year I start feeling this way. I feel like a swarm of gnats is buzzing around my head, each one is a detail that I must take care of between now and then.

Passports for the kids, buzz buzz. Order the generators, buzz buzz. Call the realtor in Honduras, buzz buzz. Clean the garage, buzz buzz. Loose weight, buzz buzz. Get in shape, buzz buzz.

I shall make a list. Making a list has the effect of capturing all these thoughts in my head and containing them within the bounds of the paper. It's as if I swatted the gnats with the paper, and their squashed bodies are now stains on my to-do list. That was gross. Over and out.