The morning is lovely. It is even in the 50’s already. Today will follow the pattern of the last few days with a high in the 50’s and a low, tonight, in the 30’s. I went to Dunkin’ earlier and got coffee and a donut, a butternut donut. Tonight and tomorrow I have uke, practice and a lesson, then nothing until May 3rd.

When I was a kid, the future was tomorrow or even as far away as next week. My weekdays were taken with school. Saturday was my day and Sunday was family day. That’s just the way it was. Life sort of meandered, and I went right along with it.

I didn’t know how to do much when I got to college. I was a babe in the woods. I’m a bit embarrassed to admit I didn’t even know how to use the washing machine. When the buzzing was constant and the machine had stopped, I had no idea what was wrong. I tried all the buttons and got nowhere. It was pure luck when I rearranged the wet clothes and the machine started. That’s when I learned about balance.

I never cooked. My mother always did. I made a superb bologna sandwich and could open any can. That was enough. It was in Ghana when I first made cookies, sugar cookies for Christmas. They were delicious. I was surprised. That’s when I learned I could bake.

The first few months in Ghana at my school I was homesick, massively homesick. I was alone with no one to talk to about it. I wrote letters home all about the way I felt then I destroyed them. I just needed to say them out loud, or write about them. There was another volunteer, but she kept to herself. We said hi if we ran into each other on the school compound. She left after a year. I don’t know if she went home or to another site. I never saw her again. It was close to Christmas before I stopped checking my mailbox twice a day hoping for letters, for connections. Some days I even forgot to check. I was still glad for letters, but I didn’t need them. I had learned to be content with myself.

Life is a series of lessons. We just have to notice.

The morning is lovely, finally. We have a blue sky and sun. It is in the high 40’s. We will get into the low 50’s before falling to the 30’s. This is an odd season. It is spring in the daytime and winter at night.

I have been a sloth of late. I did vacuum Jack’s room, the stairs and my room, but that’s it. I can live with the dust, but I admit the dog prints returning to the kitchen floor after the days of rain bother me. I know I’ll end up washing the floor.

When I was a kid, if I was lucky enough to have a nickel, I’d buy a Welch’s Fudge Bar. I don’t think they are around anymore. I remember a Forever Yours bar, sort of a vanilla Milky Way, and a Midnight bar, a dark chocolate Milky Way. I used to buy semi-sweet Hershey candy bars. They were square in shape and were a bit bitter. Now I just use semi-sweet chocolate in cookies. I am a fan of Cadbury Fruit and Nut bars. I first tasted them in Ghana. They were big time treats. Now, my chocolate bar of choice is Snickers with Milky Way a close second.

When I was growing up, I remember this time of year and playing outside after school. It always got cold by late afternoon, but we never went into the house until we had to, until the streetlights. I remember how warm the house felt and the smell of supper cooking. My mother was always in the kitchen. We’d settle down in front of the TV and watch The Mickey Mouse Club. We’d sing along with the “Hi there, Ho there,” opening song and the closing song, the sort of sad, “Now it’s time to say good-bye.” The Mickey Mouse Club is where I learned to spell encyclopedia. It was Jiminy Cricket who taught me. Even now I don’t just spell encyclopedia. I sort of sing it.