The weather hasn’t changed. I looked out the window when I first opened my eyes and saw the clouds. I didn’t want to get out of bed but Nala did so I had no choice. The deck is wet. It had rained sometime earlier. The day is warm at 47˚. More rain is supposed to hold off until tomorrow. I’m not enthusiastic about a new year which begins with rain.

Today I have no plans. I have actually vacuumed a couple of room already. The pet hair was taking over. I also cleaned down the stairs. I do feel quite accomplished. I know the dump is looming, probably Sunday.

I don’t make resolutions. I did once but at some point I decided a resolution was too much of a commitment. I used to smoke. One Friday I decided not to go to the store to get a package of cigarettes even though I had only four left. I never smoked again. It had been time to stop. Changes are mostly like that for me. They just seem to happen at the right time.

When I was in Ghana, I went back to visit my Ghanaian family in Bawku over New Year’s. My sister insisted I go to church with her on New Year’s Eve. I smiled and said yes, but inside I was feeling trapped. The church service would be long, hours long. It was, but it was amazing. The church was filled with people. The women wore their traditional dresses made with beautiful Ghanaian cloth. Many men wore fugus, smocks, while others wore kente cloth over one of their shoulders. The church was beautiful, a bright, lively scene with all those colors. The singing started first. After that the dancing began up and down the aisles. My sister tried to drag me into the dance, but I had no rhythm and that held me back. I did clap and sing from my pew. The minister gave a sermon about old sins and new beginnings. The Ghanaians nodded, the speeds of the nods determined how much they agreed with the minister. It was fascinating to watch. I even tried my hand at it!! I tried nodding and mostly did okay. I don’t remember thinking the hours were long to be in church. The time passed so fast. That whole experience is one I will never forget. It was joyous and warm and lovely.

When I was a kid, I never understood the hoopla of New Year’s Eve. As far as I could tell, the first days of the new year were no different than the last days of the old year, well, maybe a little colder, maybe not, but saying goodbye seemed silly to me. When I was older, I celebrated some years but not usually at parties. My friends and I did game nights. We’d pause at midnight, toast the new year, clink glasses and then drink our champagne. We’d go back to the game with our champagne glasses in hand. Of late, I am awake at midnight just because I am always awake at midnight. I keep an eye on the TV for the time, acknowledge midnight and say Happy New Year aloud into the air hoping it will be.

Today is warm at 47˚. It will stay cloudy and warm all day. Rain is a possibility tomorrow. We are stuck in an ugly weather pattern. Yesterday was another day like the day before it and the days before that. Today is the same, cloudy and damp. I am living in a Ray Bradbury short story, All Summer in a Day.

The weather is getting to me. I’m grumpy. I need a bit of sun to sweeten my mood. I gave the dogs their beef bones a little bit ago to keep them occupied. Nala is already tired from her bone and is falling asleep on the couch with her head resting on her bone. Henry is still gnawing.

I have a couple of errands today. I’d rather sit at home in my cozies and read, but I’ll dutifully complete my two errands and then I’ll need a nap.

When I was a kid, this week would have been a disappointment. With no snow, there was no sledding; with warm weather, there was no free skating at the swamp or the park. I rode my bike when it didn’t rain, but that wasn’t enough. The day was long. I’d ride to the library in the afternoon, looked through the stacks, pick a book then sit down to read at one of the long wooden tables. I always sat in a captain’s chair, the chair with arms. After a while, I’d take the books home, sequester myself in my room and read away the afternoon. That sounds just like my plans for today. Some things don’t ever change.

My house needs cleaning. I walk around with my eyes straight ahead so I don’t have to see the clumps of dust chasing me. My kitchen floor is hidden under muddy, but dried, dog prints. Rain is not predicted today so I might just bite the bullet and wash the kitchen floor, but I have an out. It may rain tomorrow bringing more paw prints.

My life of late has been quiet. My dance card is empty for the week. Mostly I’ve been home. I take my shower and change from set of cozies to another. I do everything I can to do nothing. Ponder that for bit.