Two surprising things happened to me this morning in Stowe, Vermont.

First, I found a caterpillar inside my fleece sock. When I say found, I actually mean that I put my foot in my sock, stuffed it into my shoe and felt a funny, prickly sensation against my big toe. Having walked around a field the last time I wore the sock, I thought perhaps I had a burr, but when I removed my sock and turned it inside out, I realized it was, in fact, a caterpillar. This was a woolly one, black and brown and curled into a ball. Now the question many of us might have is: how the hell did a woolly get in my sock? Bemused, I picked up the woolly, laid him gently on the bed and hoped I had not killed him when I jammed my foot into my clog. I put my sock back on, placed my foot in my clog and checked again on the woolly. Sad to say, the little woolly didn't move and so I laid him to rest in a generic hotel garbage can. This felt disrespectiful, but really I had little choice and I have a severe distaste for flushing animals (whether fish, woollys or rats) down the toilet. This past year has been particularly traumatizing in the flushing-animals-down-the-toilet department and I could stand no more. I did say a few words, bowed my head and had a moment of silence in honor of the cute, fuzzy, prickly woolly who took up residence in my sock. This morning, I committed involuntary woolly slaughter and that is always a sad way to start the morning.

Secondly, and on a much happier note, this morning I was surprised to taste the best blueberry muffin I had ever had. This muffin was chock full of FRESH blueberries that burst with flavor in my mouth on every bite. Around these juicy morsels were a light, buttery pastry that had my taste buds singing gospel and my heart valves singing the blues. The muffin melted in my mouth on every bite. The top was crispy with tiny bits of sugar melted to just the right crunchiness. Needless to say, this muffin seriously uplifted my mood and caused me to feel awe for the baker who created this breakfast confection.

While I could not simply forget my run in with mortality this Wednesday morning, that blueberry muffin was a special reminder of why I am glad to be alive and glad I do not live in a sock.