Saturday, March 21, 2009

Focus

In Marie Curie's biography, her daughter recalls how focused her mother could be. When she was a child, she would be so intent on her reading that her siblings could build stacks of chairs around her - all unnoticed.

After a rousing few rounds of Mau with Barnacle Boy and some of his friends, I retired to my study to read for a while. Fluffy came up, but for once did not want to sleep on whatever I was working with. I kept reading (William Barry's Letting God Come Close). Suddenly the Boy is at the door, camera in hand. "Is the cat in here?" he demanded. "She was." "Did she have the mouse with her?" "The mouse??"

I hadn't noticed. At all.

4 comments:

  1. Well, Dr. Curie, I hope the mouse hasn't landed in your teacup!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Based on Fluffy's current intent interest, I have this deep fear that the mouse is under the piano (a rescued instrument that sits on bricks -- and is therefore to all practical purposes immovable).

    I am grateful that she didn't jump up on my desk with mouse in mouth. She once dropped a "treat" (still alive) into my lap full of knitting (outside)...I cannot tell you how startled I was.

    ReplyDelete
  3. at least you always have a spoon to scoop up such things. really, Fluffy is the star of this blog.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Of course Fluffy is the star - cats have staff!

    ReplyDelete