Morning Dance (of a teacher, during summertime)

The sun wakes the front of the house first, making it too hot to sit on the otherwise perfectly situated Adirondak chairs. While the sun still sits low, the backyard benefits from the shade of the house, so the four-person patio table - purchased at a second-hand shop, spray painted over at least twice (and needs a third), recently spruced up by brightly colored new seat cushions - is ideal.

The problem is the pergola.

The kitchen window that looks out over the back patio has a beautiful pergola sitting above. Birds love to sit atop that pergola – it’s the perfect perch. But it is not uncommon to come out to the table first thing in the morning, balancing my iced-coffee, protein bar, book, phone and laptop, and discover bird droppings where I normally plant my items.

This morning was one of those times.  

No biggy, I thought. I actually welcomed the idea of placing my items in a new spot, creating a slightly different point of view. 

As I sat down, however, I was immediately reminded that it had rained the night before. While the grass out in the sun covered field had been mostly dry when walking the dogs earlier, the shade covered patio cushions were not. 

It might not be too bad in the sun today, I thought. Those storms had brought with them some pleasantly cooler air.  

So, I gathered all my items – my iced coffee, protein bar, book, phone and laptop, and moved to the Adirondack chairs on the front porch. My eyes squinted from the brightness of the sun. It felt warm, but not the uncomfortably hot feeling like the previous days.

I settled in and began to read the next chapter in my book. I was wearing my morning uniform – white tank top with black workout pants, always with the intention of working out later in the morning. While the pants are light and breathable, they are still black, and the sun soon began to soak through them, making my legs feel uncomfortably hot.

I am going to at least finish this chapter, I told myself.

Then, I realized – Ha! I can just take the cushion off the chair. Up until a few days ago, we weren’t even using cushions on those chairs, and they worked perfectly fine without. So, I gathered my iced coffee, protein bar wrapper (I had eaten the bar), book, phone and laptop, and moved back to the patio. I situated my items on the part of the table that had not been visited by birds, lifted the damp cushion off the chair, and situated myself. 

Then I realized I needed to visit the bathroom. 

And so it goes - my morning dance in the summertime.