The morning is chilly, only 65°. It is cloudy and damp, and the weather for today won’t get much better. I’m a bit cold. Only a couple of days ago I was sweating. September is an odd month. It is both summer and fall a day or two apart.

Nala has been stealing trash again. I noticed an empty dog biscuit box outside, but I left it there. No way was I venturing down the stairs to the backyard. She must have known how much I hate outside trash as she brought it back into the house. Yesterday I saw an empty coffee bean bag on the deck. It was raining so I left it there. Nala was kind enough to bring it back into the house. She also brought in a stick, and she and Henry took turns chewing it. I’ve been picking up bits of bark.

When I was growing up, my mother didn’t work outside the house. She didn’t even drive back then. She was always there for us. She’d make us breakfast in the morning before school. My favorite was boiled eggs in an egg cup. She’d cut the toast into strips and put the strips on a plate around the egg cups. I loved dipping the toast into the egg. The egg cups were yellow chickens and hens from Fanny Farmer. I have a couple she gave me when I brought my house. In the winter she’d make us oatmeal. I’d add milk and cover it in sugar. I always had cocoa in the morning while my brother had tea. My school lunches were so good one of my friends who had the same lunch box kept trying to sneak and switch so she could have my lunch.

All of my life I have divided my clothes into school clothes and play clothes. Because I wore a uniform, I had to change as soon as I got home from school. Even when I was an adult, I’d change my clothes as soon as I got home from school, from work. The only time I didn’t change was when I lived in Ghana. I wore dresses there all the time as that was the custom for women. Sometimes, though, I’d change into shorts or something comfortable, but I never left the house unless I wore a dress. Now, I only wear play clothes.

I’m still limping, but my leg is getting a bit better. I don’t moan or groan as much. I do get annoyed at Henry as he won’t come in the dog door. I leave him outside, but then he starts crying so I have to go let him inside. He knows how to work me. I limp down the hall muttering.

I woke up to a dark, damp morning. I asked my Alexa the time. She said good morning. It is 11:25. I was shocked. I can’t remember the last time I slept so late, but now, after a cup of coffee, I am better suited to face the day.

The rain started a little while back. I’m happy for the rain. It has been a long while. I closed the window behind me. I could feel the cold, damp breeze on my back. I’m not complaining though. I’m glad for the chill.

I remember how excited I was for the first day of school. I didn’t have new school clothes; instead, I had a new uniform, a white blouse, blue skirt and a blue tie, a cowboy bow tie which clipped to my collar. My shoes were usually sturdy as my mother hoped they would last most of the school year. My socks changed with the seasons, short socks when it was warm and knee socks when it was cold. When I was young, on really cold days, I used to wear snow pants under my skirt. I wasn’t a fan. It took a while to undress in the cloak room and hang up the pants. I’d have to sit on the floor and pull them off. One year my mother found pink longish underwear. It came to my knees.

Okay, back to the first day. I always had a new lunch box. When I was young, it was a character box. One year I had a Mouseketeers’ box. It was talent roundup day. When I was a bit older, I went with designs. I remember a red and black plaid lunch box. That was in the fourth grade. My usual lunch was a sandwich and cookies for desert. We could buy milk. In the winter, my mother sometimes gave us soup and Saltines. I remember chicken noodle was my favorite. Sometimes, though, the noodles plopped into the thermos cup and my blouse would get a few drops of soup on the front.

I always got a new pencil box, a box of crayons and a school bag. I used to practice putting the pencil case into the bag and putting the bag across my shoulder. I wanted to be ready for that first day.