A grand day!

The grandfather clock in the hallway chimed precisely seven times. I had been awake for hours though probably only since I had heard six chimes then relapsed into my disjointed overnight echoes and reflections, seeking to summarize the present, to eclipse the past, to manage and contain the wealth of memories, information and detail, to put it all in apple pie order.  From beneath a corner of my sleep mask I could see sunlight greedily bordering the window blinds, impressing its metallic white colour with uncompromising sharpness. The impression of the day was by any account brighter than normal.

As I rode my tricycle along Spring Street parallel the river there were numerous dogs both big and small walking their owners in the park and on the sidewalks of the neighbourhood. Everyone appeared to be in a buoyant mood, waving Good Morning! and saying Hello! while uttering the usual indispensable remarks about what a grand day it was. Even the dogs communicated with one another! My Workout Detail on my Apple Watch reports 3.99 Km (just shy of my 4 Km customary and convenient goal, basically two repetitions along Spring St), Elapsed Time 0:41:06 (contracted to Workout Time 0:36:09 to account no doubt for my sidewalk chatter with Dave who had walked for 45 minutes), Avg. Heart Rate 84 BPM and an Avg. Speed 6.6 Km/H with an Elevation Gain of 6 M, Total Calories 123 Cal (diminished to Active Calories 48 Cal), the Temperature 12° and Sunny. In all, hardly a record of athletic achievement, yet sufficient to fulfill a moderate exercise.  Afterwards I absorbed the glistening sun on the balcony, dozing off for an half hour in a very agreeable plastic chair before confessing the gathering warmth and removing myself inside for breakfast.

It was so much better than having had to carry a blanket into the meadow and struggled with the flies, walking to and fro. It is this confession of status that excites me, the recognition of that which is, not that which was; the overall adjustment of seven decades (including its singular moments of sometimes looming peril though now pardonable as the folly of youth).

But the day is limited, its time ticks and chimes, the mechanics of habit and industry each claim their portion.  It is imperative to settle upon those discrete and valuable fragments that now provide the most noticeable appeal. Inclination like the long and natural angle of the summer sun has replaced the confinement of obligation.