Mornin' Sunshine

Mornin' sunshine is how I start my day. Every day. The alarm goes off. The dogs start to stir. I can read their minds. They are saying, hustle it up lady. We're hungry and we have to pee! Sorry guys. I, too, have needs. I enter my bathroom and can't avoid my mammoth mirror. And on this particular day I am spectacularly beautiful. Mornin' sunshine, I say. To my ponytail that looks like Pebbles from the Flintstones. To my dark circles under my eyes. To my, wait, what is that? I get my reading glasses from the nightstand. I look closer. How is it that a forty-five year old woman has a blemish that big?

On autopilot I turn on the coffee machine. Fill the dog food bowls. Feed the dogs. Hook up the leashes, grab a plastic bag and off we go. And truly it is a beautiful day with gorgeous sunshine. It's a great day to be alive. When we return from our walk, I feel energized and young. I take the stairs two at a time. Until I start hearing this horrible crunching sound. It's coming from my knee. What? Oh yeah, for a minute I forgot my age. I forgot that this knee started making funky sounds a couple of years ago. And now I remember. The doctor said we shouldn't do anything to this knee until the crunching hurts. Well, it's starting to. You aren't 18 anymore, Ann.

To the shower, lotions and potions applied and dressed in comfy clothes, I feel ready to greet the world. I've had my week or so of being a slug. I needed that after school was out. Long cups of coffee. Good Morning America. Live With Kelly. Get off your butt, Ann! But I have to say I needed it. I needed the transition. I've been running so fast and hard this year that a break was long overdue. I love working full time and in the school that I do. But you add in the happenings of my family and I was tired. Just saying. Not complaining.

Now being well rested and excited about the rest of summer, I walk the line of feeling young and living the reality. Middle age is right where I want to be. I'm in good health. I have gray hair. There is a fix for that. I have a few aches. They're minor. She-ra lives on. And I have lots to look forward to. Especially the sunshine that wakes me every morning. And the sunshine I see in the mirror every day.