Sorting the Spare Buttons

I noticed an open ceramic ramekin sitting on the coffee table, filled with a colorful jumble of spare sewing buttons. Sitting cross-legged on the smooth wooden surface, I started sorting them by diameter and hole count into neat little concentric rings. One thick tortoiseshell button had a tiny hairline notch along its rim that made it wobble every time I tried to slide it into place. I used the flat tip of an unbent paperclip to nudge it carefully into the center as a hub, creating an orderly gear pattern across the table. Bringing symmetry to that little dish of chaos made winding down for the night feel just right.