INTERNAL CLOCKS (4/06)

As you know, I usually watch the sun come up from my rocking chair on the porch. No matter how chilly it is when I first sit down, once the sun is full up and staring me in the face, it is uncomfortable enough to drive me indoors. That's a good thing, actually, for it reminds me that there are chores to be done, errands to run, weeds to pull, and so on. If not for the sun, I might be tempted to linger here all day, and just become a total slacker. As it is, I usually head inside to clean up the kitchen and make the bed, then I either go for a walk, or I head into town to workout at the ladies-only fitness club where I have a membership - the only exercise place I ever didn't hate. A friend I met there says her daughter refers to it as "gossip central", but I prefer to think of it as my information network. There's a good reason why these franchises are spreading like wildfire. Where else can you catch up on all the latest news, find out about new businesses and restaurants that have opened up, enjoy good music and good conversation, find answers to any dilemma, all while burning calories and building muscle? I've been known to have so much fun there, that I accidentally went around the circuit four times, instead of the required three (you'd have to know me to realize just how amazing that is)!

Since I am most definitely a morning person - one of those obnoxious types who pops out of bed feeling perky at five a.m. - I run at full steam until three or four in the afternoon. That's when I usually suffer what Mom always referred to as "a sinkin' spell". For her, it signaled time to fix a little tea party, switch on the television, and enjoy the company of her good pals Merv, Phil and Oprah. Not being much of a TV watcher myself, I prefer to bring a good book and a tall glass of iced tea out to the porch, where it is once again deliciously shady, and the sun has made its way over our hill, and is now sliding down behind us. If I'm lucky, I might even get one whole chapter read, before I drift off into a little power nap for ten or fifteen minutes. I then awaken feeling completely refreshed, and ready for the evening's festivities.