Murphy sits about 90 miles from the central time zone which is just a little west of Chattanooga, TN. This time of year, it's still dark around 6 AM. When my coffee finishes brewing, I step outside in the 50-degree air to feel the quiet of the morning. As first light peaks in the east, the first cardinal calls what-cheer....wheet, wheet, wheet, wheet and is immediately answered with a distant reply of the same. This begins the chorus of songs and calls that echo through the trees. From the porch this morning, I hear the rushing creek in the hollow. A soft orange glow changes the eastern sky and daylight arrives. This welcoming of morning doesn't last long enough.
Some days are full of doing tasks and chores that Cliff did for me. The floor wasn't that dirty but he enjoyed saying. "Guess I need to pull out the vacuum. I'm tripping over debris." I thanked him. Whenever I was in the kitchen trying out new recipes, making cookies or the double batch tapioca pudding for him, he was there beside (getting in my way sometimes) washing the utensils, pots/pans, cutting boards, drying them and putting everything back in their proper places only to have me take some things back out and reuse again. "I just washed that" he would state. He learned to ask if I were through with things before he cleaned up after me. I thanked him. He emptied the dishwasher when it was finished in such an orderly manner (getting in my way sometimes because I was also in the kitchen working but he wanted to be there with me). I thanked him. Every morning he made my bed reminding me of the order that the pillows needed to be placed. John&
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