The morning is cold. Even the cats’ fur is cold. It is 48˚. The heat is on and so is my sweatshirt. Outside is a pretty day with sun and blue skies, but only 59˚ will be the high. I could go to the dump, but I can wait until Wednesday. The trunk has only a couple of bags of used cat litter.

Jack is venturing closer and closer to downstairs. He stays about midway down and meows for pats and scratches, but that alerts Nala who chases him up the stairs. She cries at the gate to the cats’ room. Gwen is not eating her special food. I worry. She goes in for the same tests this week as she had last week. I get a shingles shot this week.

Nala brought in a semi-deflated basketball she found in the yard. It used to be Gracie’s. I never heard Nala bring it through the dog door. She also brought in pine branches but a small pine branches. She loves to chew. I never think to watch her come in through the dog. I’m just glad she does.

When I was a kid, the future was tomorrow except during holiday season. We counted down the days until Halloween then the days until Christmas. Thanksgiving was in the middle, but it never rated a countdown.

I loved twilight in October even though it meant early street lights. The late afternoons got chilly. We were inside early usually doing homework then watching TV. My mother was in the kitchen making dinner. My father seldom made it home from work by dinner time. I remember him coming in the front door wearing his black overcoat and his grey fedora. He always wore a suit and tie to work. My father used a Windsor knot for his tie.

For meals, the four of us sat at the kitchen table. My mother ate standing up at the counter. The kitchen table just fit its space, a small space in the back of the kitchen, and it just fit the four of us. Dinner was always meat, potatoes and a veggie. My favorite dinner was meatloaf, mashed potatoes and peas with niblet corn a close second. Before she put the meat in the oven, my mother spread ketchup on top then added bacon. I used to try to steal the crisp bacon. Dessert was usually cookies, Oreos or chocolate chip. After dinner we watched TV, usually westerns.

Weeknights, except for Friday, meant early to bed. My mother would say it’s a school night as if we didn’t know. I swear she always said with a smile on her face.