The rain has given way to a delightful day. The sun is bright and warm at 77°. It is summer again. Nala was out for a long while and came back inside panting. Either it was zoomies or she was hunting a creature. She refuses to tell me. As for Henry, I have no idea where he is.

This is not the best of days. It is one of those one step forward and two steps back days. I feel discouraged. I know this will all disappear, but it gets difficult sometimes to remember that. I’ll be hanging around all day. I still have a couple of Hershey bars. Chocolate is my panacea.

When I was a kid, I survived all the kid diseases. I remember the bedroom was kept dark when I had the measles because it was thought light might make me lose my vision. I think I was in the dark for four or five days. Most families didn’t isolate one kid with measles or chicken pox or mumps. It was hoped that all the kids would catch whatever the one kid had. Chicken pox was the worst. First came a rash then itchy pimples. You didn’t scratch or you’d leave scars. My mother slathered us with Calamine lotion. She’d even put mittens on our hands so we couldn’t scratch. We all survived unscathed.

When I was a kid, phone booths were common. I’d never pass one without checking the coin return slot. Sometimes I’d even find a dime. When it rained, phone booths were a refuge. I’d close the folding door and wait. I remember in train stations and bus stations there were phone booths all in a line. You sat down in those booths. I remember the booths were brown.

I miss seeing my foot in the x-ray machine. I could see all the bones. The salesman always checked my feet before we bought shoes. He also used that slide measurer to see what size my feet were. We used to go to Thom Mcan’s. I always got new school shoes and new shoes for Easter. In the summer I wore sneakers.

My house could be the setting for a B movie. It is filled with cobwebs. The spiders are both huge and tiny. The webs go across book spines and kitchen utensils. They are on window frames and furniture and even on the stairs. I break up the webs when I see them, but I let the spiders go free.

Henry is now on the couch napping. He lives the good life.

The rain started yesterday. It poured. I was glad for that. We really need the rain. This morning the rain continues. It is a heavy rain. I can hear it on the windows and the roof. It is coming from the south. I had to close the back door as the kitchen floor was getting wet.

Henry’s eye sockets look great. The swelling is gone, and the red has faded. He has stopped scratching them. I’m still putting the salve on, but he no longer minds. Speaking of better, my leg is almost there. It still hurts when I lift it in certain directions like when getting into the car, but I just wince and don’t moan as loudly.

When I was a kid, I loved rainy days. Sitting in my room, I always felt comforted by the rain as if it had arms spread around me, holding me tight. The lamp lit against the darkness felt cozy. Most times I read but sometimes I napped falling sleep to the sounds of the rain.

My father once said I was the most aggressive of his children. I think what he saw as aggression was just me following my dreams, me, letting nothing deter me. I always think I was born exactly the right time. The world was changing. Choices were widening. I knew I could be anything I wanted. I was only eleven when I knew I would travel the world. I was thirteen when I knew I would be a Peace Corps volunteer. Lots happened in between, but I never lost sight of what I wanted and where I’d be.

My 60th class reunion is this weekend. I am having trouble wrapping my head around it. I don’t think of myself as old though sometimes a look in the mirror takes me aback, but I blame it on the lightning.