September 24, 2015

White Dog ushered us all out onto the deck. It was only 7pm but already the light was fading and the earth breathed a slower, end of day pace.

This is the first day of Autumn according to the calendar but we have seen the changes slowly creeping into our lives. White Dog assembled the Army and I to partake of a summer habit we had when she was much younger...when it was just she and I.

"The entire Summer has passed and we did not once do this," she lamented to me. "We owe it to the ourselves to at least once gather and watch evening come as we wait for dad." She was right, what once had been nearly a nightly routine slipped aside to make way for other demands and a busier lifestyle. Her reminder made us take pause.

So we sat on the steps and ramp and quietly watched the birds settle and heard the street noise die down. Dusk turned the sky remarkable colors and the things of earth shadowy. "Look, momma," Fergus exclaimed, "the first star!"

White Dog nuzzle against my chest. "Sing to us, please," she asked. That, too, was part of our long ago habit. I rested my cheek against the top of her head. "Won't that break the magic?" I asked. Bless the Little White Dog of My Heart. "No!" she said. "It is PART of the magic.

So I sang the song my grandmother used to sing to me as we sat on HER back porch watching nightfall. It is one of WD's favorites 

 "Today"

I'll be a dandy, and I'll be a rover

You'll know who I am by the songs that I sing

I'll feast at your table, I'll sleep in your clover

Who cares what tomorrow shall bring

Today, while the blossoms still cling to the vine

I'll taste your strawberries and I'll drink your sweet wine

A million tomorrows shall all pass away

Ere I forget all the joy that is mine, today

I can't be contented with yesterday's glory

I can't live on promises winter to spring

Today is my moment and right now is my story

I'll laugh and I'll cry and I'll sing

Today, while the blossoms still cling to the vine

I'll taste your strawberries and I'll drink your sweet wine

A million tomorrows shall all pass away

Ere I forget all the joy that is mine, today

And just as I finished we saw the headlights of Pumpkin as Steve turned onto the driveway. We got up shook off the disconnection to the world and headed in to greet him.