The rain has finally disappeared. Today is as perfect a summer day as anyone can imagine. It is 71°. The high will only be 75°, and tonight will get down to the 50’s. The bright sun is framed by a beautiful blue sky. The breeze is strong. The branches sway. The leaves turn over, left and right. The house is still cool from last night. The dogs are sleeping. All is right with my world.

Henry is skeptical of me. He comes inside reluctantly. He suspects I might spray his yeast infection or rub anti-itch on the outside of his eyes which are red from his allergy. I hide pain pills in his food. He only gets them once a day now, in the late afternoon, when his limp is still a bit pronounced after he sort of runs around all day. Poor Henry!

When I was nearly twelve, my friend invited me to a Red Sox game. Her sister worked for the Sox. It was a night game, a magical game. In my excitement, I tripped on the front steps when I was running to the car, and I sprained my ankle. I didn’t care. I was not going to miss that game. I limped all the rest of the evening. We got to Fenway in time for batting practice. I remember walking out from the concourse to the field. The lights were so bright it was like mid-day, and the grass was as green as any grass I’d ever seen. I caught a ball. My friend’s sister took it to get signed. I had that ball for the longest time. I don’t know what happened to it. We had great seats. I was enthralled. We ate hot dogs and peanuts. The peanut shells surrounded my feet. We sang Take Me Out to the Ballgame. That the Sox lost was, for me, no nevermind.

My memory drawers are filled with images. They are the way I remember best. When I close my eyes, I can see the memories. I remember walking to school across the field thinking it was a shortcut. I can still see the houses on the street. I passed them every school day for eight years. In my mind’s eye, when I drive through the square, I remember all the stores which were once uptown. The corner stores, the red store and the white store, neither of which was really on a corner, are still there in my memories. Walking into the red store, the first thing you saw was a display of Hostess products. In the white store, on the inside right was the penny candy display case. My mind’s eye is weirdly selective.

My dance card is empty until Monday’s concert. I have no lists. I have no must do chores. I have a book to read.

The morning is cloudy, dark and muggy. It is in the high 70’s where it will stay all day, but the breeze, luckily, is a strong one. It is coming from the south. There is a 59%’chance of a thunder shower later this afternoon. I do love thunder showers.

Summer rains are often gentle. When I was a kid, I’d stay outside in the rain. Getting wet was cooling, and my clothes dried quickly in the summer heat. I’d listen to the thunder and be amazed by the lightning. Thunder has a personality. Sometimes it rumbles while other times it cracks and seems to shake the house. My dogs don’t mind the thunder, but if it is loud, they check the ceiling. I once saw lightning hit the ground close to my house. It was jagged and looked like a kid’s drawing of what lightning should be. I sort of forgot myself in the excitement. I was standing under a metal overhang in the front of my house, but the lightning ignored me.

Some days just feel right. I felt that just about every summer day when I was a kid. I had no obligations, no chores and nothing I had to do except enjoy the day. At the playground, I had group tennis lessons a few mornings a week then my coach decided to give me individual lessons the other mornings. I loved tennis. I loved smashing the ball. The rackets were wooden. A wooden frame was attached to the rackets to store them and keep them from warping. The coach brought the rackets. My favorite had a red shaft. At the courts, the air was filled with the sounds of rackets hitting balls. It was a distinctive sound. During the day, I’d do crafts, play horseshoes and checkers. In the afternoons, after lunch, we had softball games against the other playgrounds. I was a pitcher and a first baseman. We won more than we lost. Every rainless summer day was filled with fun. I always slept well.

Last night I had a fluffernutter for dinner with extra crunchy peanut butter. I slathered the white bread with Marshmallow Fluff on one side and peanut butter on the other. The Fluff oozed a bit out the sides, but I caught it with my tongue. It was like keeping ice cream from melting down the cone. Both are feats at which kids excel.

I will be mostly lazy today. The only thing I need to do is vacuum. The balls of fur strewn about the floor are too many to ignore. I have noticed spider webs around the house, especially in the corners and joining one thing to another. I make sure the spiders are elsewhere before I clear the webs. My to-do list has nothing else.