Not quite a native Ripley Countian - she attended only her last year of high school in Doniphan though she taught in the R-1 system for 32 years - Teresa (Pearson) Lee delights in surprising readers and herself with anecdotal observations of life in general. Maybe you can blame her St.Louis roots for a quirky humor and some slightly-askewed opinions, but never doubt she writes from the heart.

Epiphany

Posted Friday, January 27, 2023, at 9:10 AM

Epiphany - it’s my word at this moment. As you read Close to Home on 1/11/2023, realize I wrote it last week. Epiphany is my tomorrow as I type, but the day commemorating the arrival of the Magi to Bethlehem had already passed as this went to print.

The word also has a generic definition describing a moment of insight. Thanks to my feline friend Scooter, I’ve had an epiphany today.

Some weeks ago I purchased a smart television. Needing to rearrange furniture and clear off photos and whatnots from the top of the entertainment center are just two of the measly rationalizations I had for leaving it in the box. Worrying that it would be complicated to set up and operate was the elephant squatting in the middle of my brain, stalling the whole process.

The box became a fixture. Scooter used it as a bridge to my lap or hid behind it. I balanced my cup and snack atop it while reading. Temporary seemed no longer an appropriate term for its footprint in the living room.

On several occasions my fella Albert offered to set it up. “It won’t take but a few minutes,” he quipped. I imagined rummaging for screws and instructions, diagrams and batteries amidst the packaging after fighting with the box to open it, only to feel like an idiot when I couldn’t figure out what to do with any of it.

I relented when the forecast turned cranky. He was right. In a flash, all that was needed was one of my passwords….the task that took the longest, of course.

For ten years my home has been a TV-free space. The box Scooter played around was the closest he had been to a television. He crouches down and scurries off each time I turn it on. Music and voices can’t be the problem since previously a radio played almost 24/7, but I left it on mute for a while to see if that mattered. Nope.

His buddies don’t seem bothered. They find it curious for a minute or two, then nap in front of it or watch my antics while peering from behind. It's the newness, along with random movements and light flickers, that’s upsetting.

He’s missing out on valuable lap time. He’ll figure that out. In the meantime, what am I missing out on from my own unfounded fears?