I wonder when that happened.

Another tundrariffic day here in N. Ohio. A two-hour school delay means that Kiddo just got on the bus. Yesterday I spent a lot of the day dealing with a break-in at our house in the city. Missing copper pipes means no heat in that house so I got to see my breath which, I suppose, is better than smelling it some days.  All secured up for now and nothing of value left to steal anyway, but I'll be meeting lots of new contractors in the coming weeks. Yay. New friends.

We have no idea when the break-in occurred. The last time we can pinpoint that anybody was in the house was around Thanksgiving. The real estate market is as slow here as anywhere else. Lots of families depend on the auto manufacturing and related businesses around here. I drive by every week, make sure the lawn is taken care of, but have been inattentive to the inside. And now it's going to cost me.  Gosh, does that sound familiar for some reason?

Going through the day, doing the minimum work to keep myself and my home going, not paying attention to the inside. Trying to keep up outward appearances so that others don't realize the turmoil within. And then suddenly, I noticed I wasn't happy. I'm smart enough to realize that the fat is just an outward symptom of the problem - it's not the source of the unhappiness. It's time to step up to the plate, do the right thing, be diligent and attentive to the details within. I can't keep going on doing the bare minimum and getting by, hoping that bad things won't happen to me due to the neglect.

When the house is vacant, left unattended and vulnerable, people notice. People with ill intentions take advantage of the opportunity to strip out the infrastructure to their own advantage. They may gain 40 bucks of copper for their effort, but you're left with thousands of dollars. Have you been victimized? Yes, by your own inattention. The responsibility to care for that house, or your Self, and your body has been yours all along. With so many people who don't have homes, cooperative bodies, or a sense of who they are . . . you take for granted at times all the gifts that you do have. At least that's my MO.

Better Choices, every day, in every aspect of life. That's pretty much all we can promise ourselves. Vigilance and attention are key.