A usual morning

This morning the usual grind
dogs grunting at 5:45, wet noses bumping my cheek
get up, mama, get up!
The sun is up!

Husband snoring, or pretending
it's your turn, not mine you think
but you steel yourself and rise
to the occasion

Stumbling down the stairs
steaming milk
6 dogs peeing in the dawn
a race to the back door
nearly knocked over
I curse "stupid dog"
a tear into the kitchen
6 noses buried in metal bowls
crunching
inhaling
belching

Back to my latte
back outside for round two
6 dogs have to pooh
Ugh
Why do I live this way?

The apple tree is the big attraction
all Spring and early Summer
Crunch, crunch, crunch
These apples are small
and must be bitter
crunch, crunch, crunch
they love them
and mourn when all are eaten from the tree
another year to wait

Bleary eyed scooping
nature always calls
after breakfast at 6 AM

Lighting another American Spirit
all dogs sate for the moment
back to my latte
on the beautiful balcony
in a bedroom that smells like sex
and dog butts
and cigarette butts
since I sometimes smoke in the bedroom late at night
like lastnight with my glass of Italian white wine

On the balcony
I order my day
while husband rushes off
muttering about feeling tired
one more day until a weeks respite from work

First the shower, a wake up call
as hot as most people can tolerate
hair wet, pulled back
pulling on gym pants, bra top
it's the treadmill today

Stalling for awhile
the newspaper, my latte
another cigarette
in the garage
after my peanut butter and toast
breakfast of champions

6 dogs wandering about
following me
hoping for another
bitter green apple

Flipping the switch
to the on position
I mount my motorized steed
and sweat more at 47 than I ever did
in my youth

6 dogs watching
stopping in to check my progress
won't she ever be finished
they waggle
and wait for another
bitter green apple
I'm a sucker for wagging tails
and wet noses
and big Golden grins