On Sunday, we attended the Quaker Meeting again, and again it was a pleasantly spiritual experience for me. I thoroughly enjoyed just sitting silently and listening for thoughts as they drifted in from wherever thoughts come from. (I call it the Universe, others call it God, others Allah, and so on.) It was 60 minutes of just letting go of my desire to keep doing things, worrying about things, and planning things for the future.  I found that it was easier than I ever thought it would be to just stay in the present moment, where all of life is anyway. 

On Sunday evening, we had a fun time watching the SuperBowl together -- husband and wife sitting on the couch side by side, cheering and sighing and even booing now and then. Cia has learned SO much about football this fall and winter, and she has become a true companion for me in watching sports. 

We've had good fun working on Annie's puzzle -- her Christmas gift to us -- but it is a real challenge. It has 1000 pieces and all kinds of weird shapes and colors, but we're gaining confidence as puzzle do-ers, and this should be fun. 

Now for the big adventure. Last night -- Monday -- when I got into bed beside Cia, I started having some mild chest pains. They persisted, and I tossed and turned for about an hour, and finally Cia suggested -- actually insisted -- that we go to the emergency room to have things checked out. Well, it turned out to be about 17 hours of tension, worry, mild pain, and wonderfully kind, gentle, and skilled care by the hospital workers. Nurses, aids, doctors, even the house-cleaning staff, were as considerate as they could possibly be. In these anxious hours, I was totally comforted and buoyed by these loving people. In a strange way, I almost (but not quite!) feel lucky to have gone through this experience. It taught me some lessons, again, about the great power of calmness and generosity. (And by the way, all the tests were negative, and I was dismissed from the hospital this afternoon, and now we are sitting by a comforting fire, grateful for everything we can think of.)