This morning I’m groggy. I actually stayed up and watched the Red Sox defeat the Mariners in 15 innings. It took until almost 12:30.  Then, far earlier than I expected to be awake, I heard the loudest banging noises. They came from my neighbor’s yard where they were loading his trucks for the day. I tried to go back to sleep but couldn’t. Gracie, of course, is now asleep on the couch.

The morning is really lovely so I suppose I should stop complaining. I do have to go shopping as guests are coming for dinner. It will be on the deck and quite casual. My entertaining skills are rusty, having been hibernating all summer, but I’m thinking witty and personable will make their appearances!!!

Summer nights on the deck are sometimes perfect. The lights in the yard are bright in the darkness, and the palm tree still survives though the flamingo is a bit worse for wear. If there is a breeze to be had, the deck gets it, and the bugs are blown elsewhere. I hope the weather stays just as it is, comfortable and sunny.

August, the last summer month, can’t be here already, but the back-to-school ads have started. It seems early, but I know my nephew’s son goes back to school tomorrow, a sort of meet and greet day before school really starts on Monday. He’ll be in the second grade.

I remember my second grade teacher, Mrs. Kerrigan. St. Pat’s had lay teachers as well as nuns, and you ended up with a lay teacher every other year. I think Mrs. Kerrigan was the stereotypical spinster teacher of the 50’s. She was old, at least to my seven-year old eyes. She always wore flowered dresses and clunky tie shoes with wide heels. Her hair was white and she had a bun in the back. I remember Mrs. Kerrigan lived in an apartment in an old house across from the church so she walked to school every day. It probably took her about five minutes. Second grade was the year of my first communion. We had to learn all sorts of stuff, but the end result was worth it. I loved my new dress.

We walked two by two from the school to the church then down the main aisle to our seats. We had practiced several times. The boys wore white suits and ties, and all the girls had white dresses, mostly fancy white dresses. Flashbulbs followed our progress. We had our hands in front of us held as if we were praying. That’s about as much as I remember except for the cards and money and the gifts. My favorite gift was the Cinderella watch my Aunt Mary gave me. The band was blue and matched the blue in Cinderella’s ball dress. I kept asking people if they wanted to what time it was so I could raise my wrist and show off my new watch.

Today is lovely. The sun is shining but a little breeze is keeping the day from getting hot. It rained 2 and a half inches the last couple of days. Everything looks brighter and cleaner. I was on the deck earlier just admiring the morning and was loath to come inside, but I dragged myself in for another cup of coffee and my second paper. I’d have stayed on the deck, but everything is still too wet.

Fern is sleeping in the sun. Gracie is in and out but it will soon be her nap time. A short time ago I heard a crash and Gracie running. When I investigated, I saw the box with my new umbrella had fallen and knocked over and broken a flower-pot with a cactus in it. There was dirt all over, even in a few spider’s webs. The umbrella is still by the door as it is too heavy for me. I need to replace the older one and put up the new one in the box, but I don’t want to aggravate my back as I’m still in the I don’t lift stage according to the nurse; however, my impatient stage may overcome my don’t lift stage. That umbrella has been there almost two weeks.

I think I have lived a charmed life. I’ve fallen downstairs too many times to remember and have barely hurt myself if you don’t count the fractured shoulder and the broken teeth, but those were two different falls. I tend to space out the injuries among the falls. I have traveled. I’ve seen remarkable things.That huge line of fire ants which seemed to go on forever is one of my favorites as are the baboons on the road in front of me. I wasn’t born finicky, and I think that’s really lucky. I don’t mind dirt or strange foods. Luckily, I have never been into fashion preferring comfort over style. I do have my two dresses: the summer-spring one and the winter one. I have great friends, and my sisters would be here in a heartbeat if I needed them. I don’t have an overwhelming need to be busy all the time. My lazy gene has grown since I retried. Speaking of retirement, how lucky I was to retire at 57.

I’ve reconnected with many of my Ghanaian students, and I consider that remarkably lucky, even fateful. My local students, my DY students, are all over the place and give me hugs when we run into each other. One was over the other day. She’s a grandmother of three now. Nan met her husband in my class, and I went to the wedding. We’ve never lost touch. I get invited to reunions and usually go.

Sometimes I don’t even get dressed. I just sit and read. Other times I take an aimless ride and usually find treasures along the way. The ocean is not far, and in the winter it’s mostly mine. The front garden is beautiful and filled with flowers. I love my house and my housemates, the Misses Fern, Maddie and Gracie. I am a lucky person.