So a few weeks ago, my washer finally bit the dust. It wasn’t like it happened all of a sudden. I’d been pushin’ it for awhile. One morning it started makin’ a clunking sound when it kicked into that final spin. No problem. Just shut it off, and end the wash there, right? But slowly the noise got louder and louder, ‘til one day it scared the you-know-what outta Scamp. And me! I adapted. I just ran a little quicker to the machine when it started protestin’, shut it off, calmed down Scamp and put the wetter than usual clothes in the dryer or out on the line. The last time I did this, though, …

So the other day, I’m havin’ my weekly get together with my sister, Irene, and I swear, we’re not five minutes into it when she looks at me and goes, “Ida, what’s up?” I can always count on my sister to cut to the chase. “Oh, Reney,” I says, “I’m not gonna lie to ya. I’m feeling so overwhelmed. It’s all good stuff, but even good stuff can be overwhelming if it’s comin’ at you all at once. And then there’s the feeling guilty ‘cause I’m so lucky, really. How dare I feel overwhelmed when my life is just so darned good? And I confess, I’ve been talkin’ to myself lately.” “What else is new?” …