November 14, 2017.
7am- Woke up this morning and my thoughts are consumed with a work related issue. Feels insurmountable, but deep down I know it doesn’t really matter in the grand scheme of things. A week ago an acquaintance of ours killed himself over some sort of ‘issue’; to me none of life’s many problems are worth that sort of solution. Morning conversation with my wife T. revolved around concern for this young man’s wife and an upcoming memorial service. Usual routine- make coffee, take meds, shave, shower, say a prayer with my wife to bless the work we will do this day, and then out the door to work.
Driving to work it is a clear day outside with frost on the ground, sun is casting a warm glow across nearby soybean fields and the remnants of a recent harvest.
The speed limit has been changed near my workplace to 20 mph. Aggravating, with multiple lanes of smooth pavement to crawl along at such a reduced pace.
10am- just learned the Muncie Northside High School building has been purchased by Ball State University. I’m ambivalent about the purchase, but immediately had a flashback to my first day of class at Ball State in the early eighties, and how on that day I reflected on how much different college was than my times as a student at Northside. A memory of a memory, hmmmm.
Noon- juggling cars. Recruited a co-worker to help me drop off my convertible at a storage facility during our lunch break. My wife and I have 4 vehicles but only a 2 car garage, ha. Once this car goes into storage, I can put my daily driver in our insulated garage- makes for a good winter morning when your car is warm and you don’t have to scrape ice and snow! The newest of our vehicles is a 2009, the oldest a 1995. All are paid for- no car payment is nice, something I continually remind myself when the temptation surfaces to buy a new car.
Made some great progress on the work issue that was haunting my brain earlier this morning. Insurmountable is now becoming challenging, ha.
My daughter called for advice late in the day. She and her husband of one year, are purchasing a new home which is contingent on the sale of her current one. Inspection reports are coming in on both places and she’s pretty much freaking out over the news which means $. Spent some time calming her down and providing advice. I’ll be heading to her place to do some maintenance work over the next couple of weeks. I reflected on my first attempt to buy a home when she was just a small baby; sitting in the office of a loan officer with my wife and daughter, hearing the news that my income was not adequate to qualify for a loan. Character building is how I now see that moment. I kept trying, and eventually was able to purchase a home, never missed a payment.
Per my usual routine I visited a local gym for some stationary cycling and stair-master activity after work. Put In 70 minutes while watching an episode of “Longmire” before heading home to let the dog out.
Warmed up some leftovers for my wife and myself, then retired to my home office to write out some bills, check emails, social media, etc. Visited Amazon and ordered a new cover for our outdoor patio set as the old one disintegrated in the spring. Hard to believe cold weather and winter are upon us…seems like we had a really great summer with weather that allowed me to do a lot of outdoor bicycling, plus accomplish the painting of our privacy fence and garden shed this summer. I’d come home after work each day and knock out several sections. Took all summer, but got it done.
Packed up my bag for work tomorrow, set the coffee maker for an early morning brewing, and said goodnight to my wife T. Lights out for me at 11pm.
