And so the morning goes...

I’m up early this morning. It’s still dark out, and I admired the stars in the clear sky when I took Daisie out for her duties.

Now I am sipping coffee, and enjoying the warmth of my sweater. It’s nippy out this morning, and I felt cold outside. Still do, a little, and that makes my warm sweater feel so good. Something to savor, this personal coziness, with the cold biting around the edges to remind you just how sweet it is to be warm.

A lovely morning, to be sure.

My mind wanders, and then settles on the perplexing stuffiness of my head, and the blockage of my ears, which has been happening for some time. I wonder if I should go to the doctor to have these attended to, but dismiss this idea, as I do not like to pay money for something I think I can fix myself, or endure.

So, of course, I google my symptoms, and arrive at the conclusion that I likely have some obscure and rare disease because I am special that way. No one else has symptoms quite like mine…which makes me want to go to the doctor even less. I just don’t want to know if it’s serious…and from what I am reading I probably have contracted some rare tropical fungus that will require horrific treatments to eradicate it from my body.

Best plan of action? Continue to ignore it and check Facebook.

This early in the morning, not much is going on in the Facebook world. The friend who posts 17 photos, singly, along with a few other status updates throughout the day has begun. I suppose he has to start early to get 20 posts up in one day. The rest is all old news.

I check the news and immediately feel irritation at the government shutdown, and the imminent implementation of Obamacare. My mind descends into a morass of concern for the future, and frustration that so many people can’t see the dangers that are facing us. I start crafting arguments for imaginary conversations and debates…all of which I win, mind you…but soon I throw up my hands in despair at the weight of the opposition.

It’s time to check my favorite blogs.

I am distracted from despair by the antics of some, the inspiration of others, the wisdom shared that I should implement in my life. And then to stay well-balanced in my quest for knowledge, I look for funny animal pictures and videos. I also watch Jimmy Fallon sing the Sesame Street theme song with all the Muppets…twice.

And no morning is complete without the daily torture of checking out all the boxer dogs that need to be fostered, adopted, or rescued. All problems I can do nothing about except feel badly.

I daydream a little about how I could remodel the horse shed into a Kennel Extraordinaire, and save the lives of sweet, lonely, homeless boxers…Until I start thinking about all the food, and then the poo, and how I will think that it’s not fair that they have to live outside, and then I move them inside, and suddenly find myself without a husband.

I begin to contemplate why I don’t ever choose dreams and goals that are attainable, and what character flaws make me so unproductive.

But before I go too far down that low road, I realize my coffee is gone. The sun is rising, and Daisie is stirring. She’s about to remind me that we cannot start our day without a walk. Thankfully, the weather is beautiful, and we will both enjoy it.

It will be my first attempt at productivity for the day, and hopefully, not the last. Many tasks await…and it is tempting to leave them waiting but now the sky is light. The day has begun.

Daisie’s paw on my leg speaks the urgency of breaking my reverie. It’s time to walk, and take on the day. I don my coat, boots, ear band, and fill my pocket with treats. I say to Daisie, “Let’s go!” and she dances with excitement and bounds out the door. I follow, buoyed by her enthusiasm -- a brand new day is in front of us, and it's go time...