The morning got away from me. I woke early as there was a time window for my grocery delivery, 8 to 12. I hadn’t gone to bed until after 4 so when Alexa woke me at 8, I had to drag myself out of bed. My groceries came at 10. I hauled the bags to the kitchen and put everything away then I joined Nala on the couch and fell back to sleep with the fan cooling me. I slept wonderfully. When I finally woke up, I had coffee and a hermit cookie. I do love when my larder is full. Given the time, I thought I’d forego today but changed my mind so here I am.

Earlier I hear a lawn mower but now there is quiet. The day is sunny and hot at 82°, but the humidity makes it feel even hotter, muggy and a bit stifling. The breeze is every now and then but does little to mitigate the warmth. My den, where I am most of the time, is dark. The sun doesn’t hit here until the late afternoon. I am watching the walk video filmed in Accra, the capital of Ghana. I watch it often. I always wish I were there. It is pouring. Street ruts are muddy and filled with water. Heavy rain drops fall in a rhythm from the tin roofs onto the sidewalks. Some people are walking oblivious to the rain. Others wear colorful plastic rain coats. Aunties sit on the sidewalks and sell their goods. Most have an umbrella over them, and their wares are covered in see through plastic sheets. I never had a rain coat or an umbrella. I used to go to the market when the rain was soft. It was cooling.

I am in a hermit phase, not the cookies though I did have a couple today. I have nowhere I need to go. I am comfortable being barefoot and in my cozies. When I was a kid, this sort of Saturday would have been appalling, a wasted day. I always thought Saturdays were meant for adventure, for exploring. I usually went on my own, on my bike. My neighborhood friend never rode with me. She didn’t have a bike. If we roller skated though, we’d skate together. My neighborhood was a great roller skating spot. The sidewalk was hilly. The parking lot at the top of the hill was always empty. I loved the sound of the skates as they rumbled down the hill.

The dogs are sleeping. Nala is beside me. Henry is in the hall. They have the best lives.

The rain has finally gone and been replaced by sun and blue sky. It is in the low 70’s, perfect weather though there is still a chance of rain but much later. I don’t have an errand but I have one chore, to grocery shop from the comfort of my couch. I have a list.

My mother always grocery shopped on Friday nights. She didn’t drive so my father dropped her at the supermarket, and he waited. We loved Friday nights. The larder was filled with cold cuts, cheese and, best of all, cookies, especially Oreos. They went fast. During the school year, my mother declared some cookies hands off so she could pack them in our lunches. During the summer, no cookies were safe. Sometimes I would pack a lunch if I was roaming for the day. I’d make a bologna sandwich with mustard and hot peppers. The sandwich was never symmetrical. It had lumps, an odd cut of the bologna and the hot peppers cut in half. I’d pack cookies for dessert. I’d put the bag in my bike’s basket and hold on to it over bumps so it wouldn’t fall out of the basket. When I’d get hungry, I’d find a shady spot where I could sit and eat. The town hall had benches beside it under leafy trees. That was the best spot.

The town hall always felt cool inside even on a hot summer’s day back when there was no air conditioning. It was dark in places, especially the stairs where there were no windows. When walking on the stairs, footsteps echoed. My mother and I went there to get my birth certificate as I needed it for my Peace Corps passport. We went to the bottom floor, the darkest floor, sort of the cellar. The lady quickly gave me my official birth certificate. I still have that copy of my birth certificate. It is yellow with age and the official stamp has lost its luster and its bumps. It has become an historical document.

The summer is quickly passing, today being the last of July. When I was a kid, I knew school days were getting closer so it was almost time to school shop. Every year we got new shoes, a new pencil case, a lunch box and a school bag. Because we wore uniforms, we didn’t get a choice of clothes. We tried on last year’s uniform clothes, a blue skirt and a white blouse, to see if they fit. If they did, we were done.