I just took the above picture with Oscar, one of the two cats I’m taking care of this week and my current favorite because he didn’t throw up six times in the middle of the night–well, seven if you count the incident on the stairs–like his brother did. No kidding, I cleaned up three messes before I went to bed, then woke up this morning to four more, the most notable of which was smack-dab in the middle of the dining room table. Not exactly what you want to see just before your first meal of the day.

Inconsiderate, I know.

Later while scrubbing a vomit spot on a rug in the living room, I thought, I don’t blame you for having a sensitive stomach, Riley. (That’s the other cat’s name, Riley.) But for crying out loud, you little shit, you could at least have the decency to throw up in a trash can or an otherwise designated location. (That’s what I do.) What, you think you own this whole house, that you can just stroll from room to room VOMITING anywhere you gosh-darn please, that I’m just here to pick up after you and your hairballs?!

I know, I know–that’s exactly why I’m here.

Other than cleaning up after the cat, I haven’t done much today. Rather, I’ve taken it easy, as much as I have in the longest time. During breakfast I watched a standup comedian on Netflix, then I walked to a friend’s house to feed their dogs. They’d left a note that said I could raid their fridge, so I did, especially once I saw that it was mostly full of beer. (Diet starts tomorrow.) For well over an hour, I sat on their porch–eating, drinking, sun bathing. My mind kept saying, “Hurry up, you’ve got things to do, Marcus.” But then I’d answer, “No, actually, I don’t have ANYTHING to do. Now go fetch me another Heineken.”

Of course, I had to get it myself.

This evening I read the script for an off-broadway play that a writer friend recommended. Then I lay down to take a nap but ended up watching a movie instead. Now I’m obviously blogging. Yesterday I was worried I’d have to blog on my phone because the charging cord for my laptop had a short in it. But then after a full evening of fretting about the matter, I managed to fix the cord today after breakfast.

Phew. Another crisis averted.

It occurred to me this afternoon that life doesn’t completely suck. I’ve thought this before, but thought it a lot today while I was sitting on my friend’s porch, even while I was walking from one home to the other. At one point I literally stopped and smelled some roses. Later I thought, Those roses are content to simply be, okay whether or not someone notices their beauty, okay whether or not someone puts their nose in their business. Why can’t I be like the rose? So often I’m concerned with wanting to be (wanting to grow) somewhere I’m not, wanting to be noticed, wanting someone’s nose–uh–in my business. Thankfully, today has been different. (At least most of it has.) Like the rose, I’ve been content to be right here, right now, perfectly satisfied with life as it is, never questioning the world’s beauty, or even my own.