I've experienced a change of pace as of late.  The pain continues to come and go in spurts, so I find myself in a constant struggle to either control it or ignore it.

Perhaps there's been a change in weather – living in the Southwest, sometimes it's difficult to tell exactly when "summer" ends and "fall" (if we even have one) begins.  But a cool breeze has about recently.

I find myself lounging by the patio door, soaking up the sun's heat.  My pets have noticed my preferred spot of choice, moving my water bowl next to my kitchen mat.

I'm not much in the mood to complain this week.  I'm having too much fun lying here.

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As summer begins and the weather gets hot (the American Southwest will do that, you know), my two-legged pets have been all complaints, frantically scrambling from one air-conditioned building to the next -- as if too much time under the sun will melt them to the ground.

I do not mind the warm weather.  No, I rather enjoy it.  Perhaps it's the wonderful sense of lethargy that overcomes me.  Perhaps it's the fact that much of my perpetual nagging knee pain temporarily subsides.

Whatever the cause, I feel contented.  Just laying here, taking an occasional sip of water, and watching the beautiful blue sky above.

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The second day I arrived at my pets' house, I spotted the reading chair that would become my own throne -- soft, with a slight rocking sway.

Sure, it's needed a few extra sheets and a cotton comforter over the years to help alleviate pressure on my knees ... but lying on my throne is like floating in a cloud.

I can lie in it all day, observing the crazy antics of the Two Leggers -- racing in and out, in and out ... a coffee in one hand, one of those obnoxiously loud and vibrating squawk box "phones" in the other.

I can doze off as my pets stare at the moving picture box, transfixed by its flickering images and all-too-realistic sounds (my word, if I get spooked by one more suddenly-appearing-and-barking Canine, I'm going to smack someone with my food bowl).

And I can painlessly dream of my perhaps slightly misspent youth, spent chasing tail (literally) and eating, chewing, and nibbling on everything in sight.

My pets have all abdicated my throne to me, adding other places to recline around it.  It is my chair -- my place in the household.  They respect that.

Recognizing that respect feels good.  Because, I gotta say, when they start in with the baby talk, I wonder ...

It's not very often that I awaken happy. Contented.

But today was one of those days.

Debilitating winter colds and illnesses have plagued me the past several weeks -- made all the more annoying by the fact that my two-legged pets and I live in the Southwest ... a warm, dry environment that should prevent us from catching cold-induced, er, colds.

But this morning ... clarity.  An openness in my sinuses.  It seems the antibiotics have finally started working their magic.

I look outside at the sunshine with relief, instead of eyeball pain.

I breathe in the fluttering breeze, with nary a wheezing attack in sight.

Today is a good day.  And, for this moment, that is quite something.

As I lie here watching my pets scurry around the house -- shoelaces untied, a backpack hiding from its owner, young ones too nervous to eat a proper breakfast -- I realize that my life as a member of the noble family of Canine has yet another benefit:  no forced schooling.

Whereas the Two-Leggers are all a fret, running around as school starts back up, I get to lie here.  Relaxed.  In fact, I could just go back to sleep if I want to.  Maybe get up in the early afternoon, and have one of my older pets rub my belly.  You know, just to get them to talk in those ridiculous baby voices.

Although, sometimes I wonder if that's the osteoarthritis talking (the wanting to just lie around, not the "let's-tickle-belly" baby voices).  If I felt younger and sprier, would I not mind running around myself a little, heading off to dog-training school?  I could serve a greater purpose and help firemen fight fires or the blind find those buttons on ATM machines.

Ouch.  My knees.  (All four of them.)

Alas, I cannot finish the thought without feeling the pain.

Back to the doggy bed it is.  Perhaps this afternoon I'll feel better.