There's so much to be done. I was heading to town, and wanted to wear my watch, keep track of the hour. But I couldn't find it. I looked on the dresser, in the jewelry box, in the little zippered case that travels with me. Nope. So I threw on a bracelet, and was on my way.

I got back late in the afternoon, walked down the drive to pick up the mail, and spotted one small piece of litter in the grassy ditch I'd cleaned early that morning. I trudged over to see what had floated down.

It was a strip of school paper with a drawing, maybe of a small blue planet, or a robin's egg. But close examination revealed an unconventional clock face. The 6 opposite the 3, and the 8, 9, and 10 floating above the face.

And then, aha! A watch! A kindergarten watch with a paper wristband.

I'm floating now. I've been liberated from the pressure of deadlines. Everything will happen this way or that; when you have a paper watch, time's funny and it moves in mysterious ways.