It had been a harrowing week. My emotions were all over the place. Sleep had been either fitful or evasive. I was mentally, physically and emotionally drained. I felt like I had been "zombie-fied". To add to my misery my dog had been on tenterhooks. One angsty dog, one sleepless me, there was never a better combination. My nerves were completely on edge. My mind kept going in and out of dark places.

I had a slight distraction. I got to meet a friend and catch up over food. That's another thing. Eating and sleeping had been erratic. Meals had been frugal and reduced to one per day. Getting out of the house seemed like a sagacious notion. A change of scene might redirect the cognition processes to brighter things or the fact that I could have intellectual discussions spanning over an assortment of topics. The evening panned out well and I was home in perfect "Cinderella" time.

I made sure the dogs were well-fed and I went to lie down. I replied to a few texts and emails and...