Now that the weather is getting nice again, I sometimes feel the urge to be outside. Not often, but sometimes, when it’s early in the morning, and the sun is light and bright and warm, and there is a breeze that ruffles the grass and holds the scent of fresh-mowed lawns, rich green earth, and blooming flowers, sometimes, on mornings like that, mornings like today, I feel the desire to sit outside with my cup coffee, feel the sun on my face, close my eyes, and drink it all in. It is a beautiful thought, a wonderful fantasy, but I never actually do it. Because I know the real truth of that situation.

The minute I stepped outside, my neighbor would decide to put her dog out. She’d see me sitting there and feel compelled to come over and chat. I’d have to force my face into a smile, a...

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