One is the Loneliest Number....

... or Is It?

"One is the Loneliest Number" was a big hit for the popular 70's group Three Dog Night. They are my Daddy's favorite group, therefore the soundtrack of my life includes many Three Dog Night songs.  Another favorite is of course, "Joy To The World."

One line in the song is

 It's just no good anymore since you went away
 Now I spend my time, just making rhymes of yesterday

Is that what I'm doing with this blog? Trying to make rhyme or reason out of what has happened?

My evenings here of late have been pretty much spent in solitude.  My days, frenetic with the hustle and bustle of my busy job, but afterward, it's pretty just much me and the cats.

It's weird coming home to a house that I don't have to pick up, or to discover that my brand new eye pencil is missing from my make-up drawer, or that the ingredients for dinner have suddenly gone missing.

Though the cats keep doing strange things that make me wonder if they don't stand up on their hind legs and walk around like humans when I leave.

JB has learned to open the doors. The door to Kit-Kat's room hasn't closed properly in years. I have to really pull it shut tight to insure that he doesn't throw his weight into it and get it opened. But I have come home on more than one occasion to find the door to my bedroom open, Tigger's room open and the linen closet open, and that door opens out.  It's freaking me out a little.

I immediately search for signs of intruders. I know that this is highly unlikely, (I don't have anything worth stealing) but better safe than sorry, right?  The Cheif has had a little talk with his buddies down at my local PD and they are making frequent trips through my neighborhood.  The bars in the window hold tight, and the house is always secure.  I close the doors again. It's not too long before JB gives himself away by trying out his new trick again.

Zipper likes to drink from the dripping tub faucet rather than the water bowl in the kitchen. I've taken to leaving the bathroom door open and I find him curled up in the laundry basket napping every afternoon. Leaving the bathroom door open has improved the heating situation in the great room as well. Who Knew?! Well, I did, but D/H wouldn't listen. My first husband was a heating and air guy. Amazing the things a smart girl can pick up just by listening.

I never realized how much the rest of the family seemed to stress the cats out. Zipper yacked up nearly every meal he ate. JB is a "stress" eater.  Now JB is losing weight and Zipper is gaining. The yacking has stopped. They both relax with me on the couch each evening and watch movies with me.

I still don't have sattelite, but haven't really missed it. I watch "my shows" on my Kindle (sans commercials = score!) and seems to be managing just fine.  I am coming to the end of my movie collection. I started out watching two movies a night, just to keep noise in the house. But now I can sit in silence and read and seem to be okay. I keep picking up a few $5 movies from Wally-world's bargain movie bin, but will have to start stretching that out. Mother lent me the first season of  "Downton Abbey" to stretch that out a little.

But the point is, that I can watch what I want to watch on the "big" tv and stretch out on the couch and if I nod off, the cats won't be kicking me and telling me to go to bed.

I still can't quite bring myself to sleep in our bed. The memory is still too fresh.  So for now, I'm sofa surfin', which isn't too bad. I slept on the sofa after my first divorce. I'm told that a lot of people do that.

I have a pretty "pathetic" life right now:
My house has stayed clean with hardly any effort.
When I lay something down, it stays where I put it.
I cook (or don't cook) whatever I want.
I only have to run the dishwasher once a week.
It takes less than two hours to do all my laundry once a week.
There are no arguments.
No one is constantly pestering me for money, despite just getting paid themselves.
All the bills are current. They are also about half what I thought they would be.
I have enough money left over from each check to go out with my friends every weekend.
I am much less stressed and I've lost over 15 pounds as a result.
I'm having more fun now that I am not constantly having to babysit a drunk.
The Lord has blessed me, and for this I am grateful.

One is the loneliest number?
Not right now