After The Day Off

Despite my determination to do this every day, I skipped a day yesterday. I sat and thought about signing in then decided not to, and I am still not too certain just why I so deliberately did not log on and write something. The usual excuses could be in play here, or maybe I just needed a brief holiday from introspection and reflection.
Perhaps it was also because that, other than forgetting a lunch date with my younger brother (only brother - so there is really no need to qualify him as though he were part of a plurality) and scurrying to get over to pick him up, not too much happened. Oh, I did find out that I have been accepted into the Master's Degree program I applied to, for which I am eagerly awaiting the "official" letter of confirmation - as much for my "scrapbook" as for anything else - which will complete the feelings of victory and accomplishment. My sisters headed for their vacation yesterday, with the leukemia and chemo effects still present but not immediately pressing, and I hope they have a really good time or at least get to relax awhile. Grief is fading quietly, although the hole where Miss Kitty was is still felt, and a vacation will do them both good.
My Dad and stepmother continue their version of living in a social whirl and can be hard to get hold of sometimes but, with his mom gone for awhile, Dad will be staying with my nephew while my stepmother traverses the span of miles between home and a job she opted to keep even though living out of state.
I am sitting here looking into our wildly overgrown backyard and wishing, since I cannot enjoy the view of a manicured lawn, that some interesting creature would venture into our field of goldenrod and purple vetch - which really has a charm of its own - so I can watch to see what a deer or a woodchuck or a skunk, perhaps, does during a rainy day. Its finally cool enough to keep the windows open even during a "muggy" morning and I can hear the rain as it falls on various architectural features on our house. The melody played on the small aluminum awning over the back door is especially fun to listen to, although it is not a concert that occurs too often due to angles and ells and other architect-type terms for corners and juttings out of parts of houses. The day is a soft grey and the birds, particularly the blue jays, seem to have a lot to say about more than just the weather. Our cats seem to want to be extra quiet this morning. You would think that a cool day would give them more energy than one could decently expect to have, but they are quiet and seem subdued. I don't know why, but it worries me when they are like this, taking into consideration their ages and various infirmaties, and I think it is due to having read too many articles on the sensitivities of animals that is supposed to presage natural disasters and acts of terrorism. Hopefully it is just the rain and the time of day. I really have not been sleeping too well so maybe I will plan a nap for later, as I must tend to some errands this morning. It will be something to look forward to as I traverse the wet, grey universe in search of banks and postal boxes, groceries and other amenities, and then head home.
Weather has always affected my moods although I have a friend who swears she is completely unaffected by the changes in the days, and I have definite weather types that I refer to as "nap days." Grey and cold are almost a given for those, but there are also the quiet, beautifully clear days of gentle breezes and soft sunshine that make me long for a cozy hammock out in an imaginary backyard with beautifully manicured lawns with me, and two trees deliberately placed at their plantings for the sole purpose of supporting a hammock and one napper, dozing in the perfection of a rare and wonderful summer day.