8:21 a.m.

All’s quiet but for the hum of the computer. The only light comes off the screen and through the window from a blazing bulb over the deck. The sky has become a grey-blue so the bare branches of the trees surrounding the house can be seen against it.

I took a wrinkled, stained Christmas tablecloth out of one of my trunks, which have been brought into the porch for now, to be emptied. I wanted to put it on the table to enhance the Christmas season for the kids, but seeing the stains on it, I said to Loverboy “I don’t want to use that.” He said “What does it matter? Any tablecloth will get stains on it if you use it, anyway.” I conceded, and spread the cloth over the table.

When Barney saw it, he was excited. “We’ve got a Christmas table -- cool!”

The little things matter a lot.