My mornings, once brightened with the glow of an online NPR Morning Edition stream, now seem cluttered and packed with MSNBC news. Not a bad news channel…preferable, in fact when compared to what else is Out There.

Unfortunately for me, the volume is usually two notches past Comfortable. The type of volume where you’d like to ask for it to be turned down, but *can* live with it for awhile longer, in the hopes that you will actually adjust to it. Kind of like when you are in bed at night and think you *might* have to pee but maybe you can live with the level of discomfort. Wait, that’s a possible bad example. I will usually get up so that I don’t lie there awake with both the discomfort, and also the fear of having *that dream* in which you are peeing and then will possibly wake up in a horrifyingly warm and wet self fulfilling prophecy.

Even more unfortunate is the amount of sleep that Mate obtained throughout the loud MSNBC blast with multiple reviews of the same story. I not only know today’s news, but I can repeat it loudly, a few times. He did wake up long enough to switch to the more enthusiastic (read: even louder) sports channel, and promptly, while sitting up, most likely with finger still on the remote (possibly on the Up volume button), fell back asleep.

Eventually the blob of protoplasm known as Man and His Dog, move to the bed. Our soundtrack continues to be the enthusiastic sports channel, with even more boisterous commercials. I turn around to see them lying on my side of the bed, dog, moreso. The mystery of why my side of the bed and blanket stink like dog has been exposed.

I am working from home and when I’m working from the office used to wonder a few things. Mate hasn’t been working since January, due to illness, surgeries, convenience (believe it or not during the summer when the Humanling was out of school) and now, what is considered by various doctors to be in the cauldron, a dash of post Lyme’s, a half cup of fibromyalgia, a block of IBS, hyper-mobility in the joints, AVN and before adding the lid to the pot, I’m going to add the opinionated spice of Too Much Attention To Aches and Pains. He can be well enough to garden, to take the Non Bed Freshening dog on walks and hikes, achieve 500 pushups in the morning and other greatest hits. Some days he is merely a pile of pain. Some days he feels great. With what I can see, it isn’t looking good for him to have a job anytime soon….unless the boss is a saint to allow him plenty of time to rest and lie around with a newspaper.

As I watch him sleep, my mind racing to things it shouldn’t. An example? No, I couldn’t possibly. No really! Well ok, maybe just one….

My mind starts to replay all the housekeeping lectures that I’ve heard. I need only turn around and see dust-bunnies that are the size of dust-Mercedes. Or the piles of stuff that need to be sorted through, or his sliding stack of mail that would be a hazard ski trail for a ladybug.

Now I can’t say for sure, but I suspect I’m slowly being driven to the outer regions of my sanity. One of the recent conversations that I had with someone involved this very strategy. And guess what – it wasn’t brought up by me! I thought she might have been a seer or stargazer, but as it turned out, she was merely listening to me talk. This is her hypothesis and it fits like a sanity-threatening glove.

I think it is time to take a break and go down and do squats. I’m a squat back-stabber. I happen to love squat results but hate the act of doing them. However, for now they are engaging enough to keep my mind from trying to jump the fence near the border!