5AM. The click, click, click sound scraped across the hardwood floors, a sure sign that Maggie needed her morning relief. If I didn't act promptly there would be a puddle on the kitchen floor. She no longer barks when she wants out she just paces or runs into the doors and walls. Her mind once sharp and devious is now an empty void. She will turn 18 this summer and for a dog I believe that is an amazing feat. We put up with her mistakes, endless pacing and her forgotten memories because she is a part of the family and I love her dearly. Hubbies verdict is still out on that one but he does clean up after her. Our house has become throw rug city to catch the drips and drops.

Reluctantly, I dragged my weary body out of bed. Sunday morning my only day to sleep in and I have to walk the dog. I grabbed my robe and we trotted every so slowly to the front door. I always don the robe when I walk her out front - never know when one of those pesky neighbors is walking the streets. She walked aimlessly around sniffing at the mailbox (still standing after Blanca's excursion) and the car tires. She did nothing. So we walked to the back yard and I plopped my still not awake mode body into my tropical colored Adirondack chair. The pink one is my favorite.

I sat there waiting for Maggie to do her business as she wandered aimlessly around the deck in search for the lawn. After a bit she found the grass and fell face first into it. The legs don't bend like when she was a puppy. In the morning they are stiff and disagreeable. She sat down under the Queen Palm like Fernando the Bull and smelled the roses. The roses for some unknown reason (lack of water) have all dried up and died. She sat there quiet and contented.

I looked at the sky and observed its odd shade of gray/pink. I heard birds chirping by the fence. And that was all I heard - no traffic sounds, no fire whistles, no horns beeping or loud music. I sat in the tropical pink Adirondack chair and Maggie sat on the grass just enjoying the peacefulness of a Sunday morning. What a great way to start the day. Thank you Maggie perhaps your mind is not total mush.