I awoke about 6:30 as the morning light careened across the kitchen island, reflecting into the bedroom. Developing discipline is hard for some—it’s hard for me—so I was trying to get back into my normal morning routine. Too often while living in Ellie I’d just head straight to the coffee, and the litter box might have been attended to around 11am.

Litter bag in hand and shuffling down the hallway in my slightly too-long PJs to the trash chute, I was aware of a slight but persistent…eh. I was neither happy nor sad, but leaned a bit…melancholy. No immediately apparent cause, although even a slightly astute reader will note that, duh, you got laid off and haven’t picked up a new source of income, dude. Yes, all true. Was that it? Hard to tell.

I picked a guided meditation focusing on contentment and afterward got up from the cushion in a slightly more equanimous mood.

Progress.

Frankie had been chasing the reflected light from my iPad periodically during breakfast and had sat down between my feet, attentive, waiting not-so-patiently for it to reappear. As he flipped his gaze to the wall, then back at me, he flipped his tail left and right in anticipation. It’s said physical contact’s one of the most important factors in a healthy life. So it didn’t surprise me that the slightest brushing of his tail against my feet promptly brightened my mood.

I sat motionless, knowing he’d soon jump back at the iPad’s reflection against the wall, enjoying it while it lasted.