The nights are cold but the mornings are lovely with bright sun and blue skies. The backyard rough, Nala’s favorite spot to lie down, is getting warmed by the sun. I woke up, the start of our usual morning routine. The dogs harassed me out of bed. Nala is the worst. I pretended to be asleep, but she wasn’t buying it so I had no choice but to get out of bed. I went downstairs, let the dogs out then made my coffee. The dogs hurried back inside for their first treats of the day, peanut butter biscuits. I made toast. The dogs came back in, had another treat then went for their morning naps on the couch. I read the paper, ate my toast and had two cups of coffee. The morning was complete.

My afternoons are more haphazard. The dogs sort of dictate what happens. Nala goes in and out. Henry goes out, but I have to let him in. If I don’t see him, he whacks the dog door or sticks his head inside. If the front door is open, Henry watches and is ready to bark at my movement. Nala doesn’t care. Sometimes I don’t know where the dogs are. I check outside or call them. I feel sort of silly when I hear a dog hit the floor from upstairs on my bed.

My mornings in Ghana were also routine. They seldom varied. I woke up to the sounds of sweeping as my students swept around the buildings and the paths. I heard water hitting the metal buckets when the students were starting to take their bucket baths. I got up and got ready. I had my first cup of coffee in my giant mug then I taught my first class. After that, I went home for breakfast, two eggs and toast. The eggs were cooked in groundnut, peanut, oil and were delicious. In between the next two classes I went home and had more coffee. I sat out front on my steps, finished my coffee then walked back to the classroom block to teach another lesson. That was the end of my morning.

When I was a kid, there was no leash law, but Duke, our boxer, was kept inside in the mornings when we all walked to school, but sometimes he would escape. When he did, he’d follow us to St. Patrick’s or follow the kid next door to the East School. My father would try to catch him. He didn’t always. Duke would look at my father then keep running. That infuriated my father. It amused the rest of us.

My dance card is empty until next week. I have a few chores I’d like to finish but I won’t care if I don’t.

This entry was posted on April 24, 2026 at 12:51 pm and is filed under Musings. You can subscribe via RSS 2.0 feed to this post's comments. You can comment below, or link to this permanent URL from your own site.