the day that was given to me today.
I got up at 5:10. Bruce went off to work shortly after that. I left my house at 5:45 to run with my friend Becky. There was a full moon but no snow so it seemed really dark. The smoggy air also has something to do with dimming the moonlight.
We are running well lately, Becky and I, but we both were watchful for potholes or uneven parts in the road - or uneven parts in our self for that matter. She will, in a few weeks, be the same age as I am. We share the diseases of asthma and heartburn and also being too nice to people who don't always deserve it. Considering all the diseases there are, these aren't bad ones. Our route is usually the same each morning only the scenery changes with the changes in seasons. We never get tired of this route and often we see things that we may have not noticed in the past ten years or so we have been running together. Our conversation is easy and usually positive for so early in the am.
Becky has to go to work but I, being a retreaded woman of leisure head into the house to have coffee, NPR and the newspaper. I text my sister the usual am weather report and she responds "15 and clear here".
Hanzo and Pirate sit next to me on the couch after I convince them that they would freeze their little phantom testicles off if we were to go for a walk now. I turn the fireplace on thinking how my father would never understand how you can flip a switch and get fire when he had to work so hard to make one in the cold winter mornings....first the newspaper, crumpled up and the kindling on top of it. Then the wood that sometimes would sizzle because it had snow on it from being stacked outside. My sister would call this kind of wood "now wood" - wood that wouldn't take to long to catch fire and create warmth, but would not last too long either. In the mornings when I was a kid, the upstairs was so cold that you could see your breath and we hurried downstairs to get by the stove. I think this is why I enjoy our fireplace so much.
I drink coffee and read the news while listening to the news on the radio, glad that I was missing the traffic delays I encountered when I was a working woman. I have become addicted to NPR but am tired of hearing about the fiscal cliff.
For a few moments I think about lifting weights but instead threw a load of towels in the washer and then made the bed. Such is the way of a retreaded woman and I enjoy these things I did not get to enjoy when my kids were little. My grandson Des calls me on the phone and says "Donna, TV". This means he wants me to video chat with him, so I turn on the computer and talk to him, watching , Scarlett and Bill. After, I decide to put up a few Christmas decorations.
At around Hanzo and Pirate and I head out on the usual walk - about 2 miles. I see a man in his pajamas sneaking his garbage across the road into his neighbor's garbage can. Sometimes I see deer in a field just off a busy street but they are not here today. The sun is shining and it is probably about 35 degrees by this time - a beautiful morning especially for late November.
We get home and the dogs got their milk bone and went outside to bark at the neighbor's dog.
My elderly friend Mary Alice calls and asks, "What are you doing today?"
"What would you like to do?" I am free", I say. It still feels good to say that.
"I was wondering if you could take me Christmas shopping", she asks.
I smile thinking about how my friend Enid and I used to shop all the time, and since she died, I have missed that. I agreed to pick her up. She later told me that she had woke up thinking of me and pondered all morning whether or not to ask me to take her. Her husband did not like to shop and she really wanted to go. She said she just told herself "Just call her". I feel so lucky to have the time to do something for someone who might not get out otherwise.
She just wanted to go to Kohls and get some things that were on sale. "And I get an extra 15% off for being over 60", she told me. There has to be some benefits to getting old, I figure.
We look around and she marks things off her list as we found what she wanted. It is a pleasant time to be shopping - on a Tuesday at 1 in the afternoon. She pushes a cart while I scout out the items she needs. She is 89 and has bad knees and a pacemaker but she gets around very well and is always cheerful. I am really enjoying her company as it is not often I shop with someone who loves looking at everything. And I had the time today. I find another pillow that I hope will be the answer, finally to my sore morning shoulders. Or, is this pillow destined to be thrown into the closet with the 40 other ones that I have rejected? It was on sale, and I guess they thought I was over 60 since they threw in the additional 15% off.
After we leave the store, we drive to Marie Callendars and have sour cream apple pie and coffee. The coffee is fresh and the pie better than I expected. The restaurant is quiet and we talk about many things.
I know it might sound corny but I felt like this day was such a gift. Life can be hard. People die, and while no one will ever take their place, there are so many other people we can get to know. And every person has a story they want to tell over pie and coffee if we make the time to listen.
I realized that this day was not ever going to happen again and every day is such a unique event. We all have the opportunity to make it good or make it bad. We can make another person's day good too and it doesn't always take much. We can always give of our time, if we can't give money or material things. Since I have retired I see that time spent with people you love is so much more important than money - or even a job.
I am lucky that my legs work and I can run in the morning, walk dogs, and run around the store for my elderly friends who can't. My day will come, but right now, this is pretty much prime time and it is good. I am going to make more of an effort to enjoy the moments I am given.
We are running well lately, Becky and I, but we both were watchful for potholes or uneven parts in the road - or uneven parts in our self for that matter. She will, in a few weeks, be the same age as I am. We share the diseases of asthma and heartburn and also being too nice to people who don't always deserve it. Considering all the diseases there are, these aren't bad ones. Our route is usually the same each morning only the scenery changes with the changes in seasons. We never get tired of this route and often we see things that we may have not noticed in the past ten years or so we have been running together. Our conversation is easy and usually positive for so early in the am.
Becky has to go to work but I, being a retreaded woman of leisure head into the house to have coffee, NPR and the newspaper. I text my sister the usual am weather report and she responds "15 and clear here".
Hanzo and Pirate sit next to me on the couch after I convince them that they would freeze their little phantom testicles off if we were to go for a walk now. I turn the fireplace on thinking how my father would never understand how you can flip a switch and get fire when he had to work so hard to make one in the cold winter mornings....first the newspaper, crumpled up and the kindling on top of it. Then the wood that sometimes would sizzle because it had snow on it from being stacked outside. My sister would call this kind of wood "now wood" - wood that wouldn't take to long to catch fire and create warmth, but would not last too long either. In the mornings when I was a kid, the upstairs was so cold that you could see your breath and we hurried downstairs to get by the stove. I think this is why I enjoy our fireplace so much.
I drink coffee and read the news while listening to the news on the radio, glad that I was missing the traffic delays I encountered when I was a working woman. I have become addicted to NPR but am tired of hearing about the fiscal cliff.
For a few moments I think about lifting weights but instead threw a load of towels in the washer and then made the bed. Such is the way of a retreaded woman and I enjoy these things I did not get to enjoy when my kids were little. My grandson Des calls me on the phone and says "Donna, TV". This means he wants me to video chat with him, so I turn on the computer and talk to him, watching , Scarlett and Bill. After, I decide to put up a few Christmas decorations.
At around Hanzo and Pirate and I head out on the usual walk - about 2 miles. I see a man in his pajamas sneaking his garbage across the road into his neighbor's garbage can. Sometimes I see deer in a field just off a busy street but they are not here today. The sun is shining and it is probably about 35 degrees by this time - a beautiful morning especially for late November.
We get home and the dogs got their milk bone and went outside to bark at the neighbor's dog.
My elderly friend Mary Alice calls and asks, "What are you doing today?"
"What would you like to do?" I am free", I say. It still feels good to say that.
"I was wondering if you could take me Christmas shopping", she asks.
I smile thinking about how my friend Enid and I used to shop all the time, and since she died, I have missed that. I agreed to pick her up. She later told me that she had woke up thinking of me and pondered all morning whether or not to ask me to take her. Her husband did not like to shop and she really wanted to go. She said she just told herself "Just call her". I feel so lucky to have the time to do something for someone who might not get out otherwise.
She just wanted to go to Kohls and get some things that were on sale. "And I get an extra 15% off for being over 60", she told me. There has to be some benefits to getting old, I figure.
We look around and she marks things off her list as we found what she wanted. It is a pleasant time to be shopping - on a Tuesday at 1 in the afternoon. She pushes a cart while I scout out the items she needs. She is 89 and has bad knees and a pacemaker but she gets around very well and is always cheerful. I am really enjoying her company as it is not often I shop with someone who loves looking at everything. And I had the time today. I find another pillow that I hope will be the answer, finally to my sore morning shoulders. Or, is this pillow destined to be thrown into the closet with the 40 other ones that I have rejected? It was on sale, and I guess they thought I was over 60 since they threw in the additional 15% off.
After we leave the store, we drive to Marie Callendars and have sour cream apple pie and coffee. The coffee is fresh and the pie better than I expected. The restaurant is quiet and we talk about many things.
I know it might sound corny but I felt like this day was such a gift. Life can be hard. People die, and while no one will ever take their place, there are so many other people we can get to know. And every person has a story they want to tell over pie and coffee if we make the time to listen.
I realized that this day was not ever going to happen again and every day is such a unique event. We all have the opportunity to make it good or make it bad. We can make another person's day good too and it doesn't always take much. We can always give of our time, if we can't give money or material things. Since I have retired I see that time spent with people you love is so much more important than money - or even a job.
I am lucky that my legs work and I can run in the morning, walk dogs, and run around the store for my elderly friends who can't. My day will come, but right now, this is pretty much prime time and it is good. I am going to make more of an effort to enjoy the moments I am given.
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