My Early Morning Ritual

So there's a window behind my second monitor, and the pooch is now tall enough to stand on her hind legs and look through it at me. It's usually early in the morning, like it is now, when it's quiet. The sun is stretching into the trees and the whole back garden is drenched in gloom. The world is stirring.

My research is up on that monitor while I work on my default screen. I'm typing away, lost in the process, ruminating in the midst of an idea, when I turn to my second monitor and HOLY SHIT THERE'S A GIANT FUCKING MONSTER OUTSIDE!!! as I rotate backwards over my chair in a disjointed, catapulted maneuver, flailing books, papers and the cold contents of forgotten coffee cups in arcs so cinematic Zack Snyder would sue.

For a brief second prefixing my snap back to reality, either face-planted in the trash can or prone and occasionally paralyzed, I pause to reflect.

I'm going to miss having a dog.