I turned out the dining room light last evening before going upstairs. In the darkened room, I looked across the floor to the dog in her bed. I briefly wondered if she sleeps better with the light off. Then I ascended the steps to my sanctuary.
Reversing the process this morning at 6, I turned the corner of the hallway in amazement. Light from the overhead fixture flooded the dining room.
Now, possible explanations for this include the potential that I am mistaken (which I really do not think I am), I sleepwalk, the dog has developed the ability to turn on the light, the wiring is funky, or the house is haunted. Mystified, I made my tea, fried an egg, and peeled a mandarin orange. I truly did not know what to think of the situation.
Breakfast eaten, I beckoned to the dog to go outside. At the backdoor, a pink sky greeted me. I ran for my cell phone and snapped a photo. What lucky chance brought me outside just in time to see this lovely sunrise! Robert Frost’s words came to mind. I’ve quoted them here before now but they never grow old:
Dust of Snow
The way a crow
Shook down on me
The dust of snow
From a hemlock tree
Has given my heart
A change of mood
And saved some part
Of a day I had rued.
(Robert Frost)
I let the back door close and put the phone down. From the kitchen, I could see into the dining room. The shimmering light from overhead fell on the gleaming hardwood floor, on the flowered table cloth, on the glaze of Trudy’s beautiful bowl sitting in the middle of the table. My heart lifted, just a notch, just a shade.
It’s the morning of the fifth day of the twenty-sixth month of My Year Without Complaining. I’m surviving. Life continues.
Your dog sleeps fine with or without the light. I admire them for many things, one being their absolute ability to live in the moment, never rehashing yesterday or worrying about tomorrow, just “being.” As for your light, I’m thinking ghost.
I have no doubt that you have a ghost, based partially on other stories you have shared. That said, our overhead bedroom light came on at 6:45 in the morning – random days, but always at that time – for several months. We finally had an electrician come in because we did not want light in the bedroom at 6:45 on weekend mornings. He found it was the wiring. I am still going with the ghost.