From Phillip and Peter 2012

When I woke this morning and glanced at the clock
and realized that the morning was here
I had slept through the night which for me
was unusual to say the least

If it is not the dogs barking
at some imaginary threat
then the call of nature is usually the key
to wake in the middle of the night for me.

My sleep drugged brain
was not reacting well to having so much rest
and befuddled in thought but content in the knowledge
that another night was safely gone
and no demons in wild dreams had bothered my thoughts
and no fighting the covers with moments to define.

I lay there for a while content to snuggle
with my doggie friends
all of us tucked in so warm not wanting to move
and break the spell until one of them
began to whine and I realized that for them
another day had started no different from the rest.

Then I remembered that this day
was more special than the others
for on this day many years ago
Baby Jesus was born to put us to the test
and the test is ongoing and does not just stay
with the day he was born on Christmas Day.

I jumped out of bed with a pat on the head
wished the dogs “Merry Christmas”
they all looked at me but only to see
if their bowls were full for in the mind of a dog
this day is no different from the rest and for them
love is measured in  food and cookies and such
and not by the date or day of the year.

I talked to my sister in our annual chat
and spent some time happy that
in good health is she as well as can be
expected for someone older than me
by ten years which makes her eighty-six
while our mother lived on until finally she
died at the age of ninety-three.

My Sister looks good for her eighty-six years
and my hope is to be the same as she
and that we both live as long as our mother or more
as long as living is not a chore to us or to others
whose lot it may be to watch over my Sister and Me.

Life has its way of passing on by
sometimes  without so much as a try to slow down
just a bit to give us a chance
to live a bit longer before that last dance.

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