Today is chilly because of the wind. I can see the oak branch over the deck keeping its own beat by rhythmically swaying back and forth. The tops of the pine trees bend first to one side then to the other. Through the trees, I can see a deep blue sky without a single cloud. It is a beautiful day.

Last night Nala and Henry had a bad night. He snapped at her twice and scared her. I hugged her and she settled down. I then noticed Henry was drooling and knew he wasn’t feeling good so he was a bit testy. I just didn’t know why. I found out later he was guilty after the fact. My cleaning lady did not shut the gate to Jack’s room. Nala went in and stole his food. She must have thought she was in a foody heaven on Earth. One stolen food item was a large container of Temptations, Jack’s favorite snack. I found the empty in the yard. I had seen Henry eating something, but it was gone by the time I got to the yard so I had no idea what he was munching. Last night Nala tossed her cookies, or rather Jack’s, on my bed. I told both dogs I had no sympathy, but they ignored me. Today they are back to normal. Nala stole cardboard. I watched her wrestle it through the dog door.

When I was in the seventh grade, I played CYO basketball. I wanted to be able to use one of the hoops in the schoolyard during recess so I asked. I was turned down. My teacher told me it was unseemly for girls in skirts to be jumping around the yard. I asked her why. She told me girls have a special responsibility to prepare for womanhood. That was her answer. I pressed once more and was again told no.

When I was a freshman in college, women had to wear skirts. We’re talking the mid to late 60’s. The winter of my sophomore year was brutally cold so the powers that be allowed women to wear pants. Skirts were gone for good. We had moved beyond the Victorian Age.

When I was twenty-one, I accepted a Peace Corps invitation to Ghana knowing little about that country beyond what the Atlas told me. We had nearly three months of training all over the country. It was during that training I realized I could do almost anything. I was living thousands of miles away from home. I was with other trainees I had just met who would become dear friends. I was eating strange foods with strange names. I was learning my way around Ghana, and I was learning a new language, Hausa. I was so immersed in all of Ghana I didn’t realize how important all these experiences were in making me a stronger, more confident woman, traits I have carried with me all of my life. I give thanks almost every day for having the courage, at twenty-one, to accept an invitation to serve in Ghana, to live in Africa.

Today is International Women’s Day which celebrates the global, social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. Wear purple.