Diary Day 1
“Woke up / got outta bed…”
I left the house a little earlier than usual today because I’m part of the “Citizens for Central” initiative at Muncie Central High School. We meet and greet the students as they arrive. One of my daughters is a student, and has asked me why I come to her school on some mornings. My reply was, “I don’t do it for kids like you,” meaning, whether she is at my house or her mother’s, there is someone there to make sure she is up, has something to eat, and ready for school. Someone will see her out the door and wish her a good day. Some of these kids don’t have that, or may be the only person awake (or home) in their house.
I went to work after leaving the high school. My job is community outreach and education, such as coordinating speakers for community events, or health fairs. It is PR-focused, without doing marketing or advertising. I have been with the hospital and IU Health for 12 years. My work today consists of mostly catching up in the office, as I traveled to Indianapolis on Monday, and will return again Thursday. This is an unusual week, as I don’t travel a lot, and am generally at work every day unless I take a vacation day. I don’t think I’ve been out sick from work for 3-4 years.
After work, I got my hair cut. I have had the same local barber for all my years in Muncie, or about 34 of 45 years. My children and I met my mother for dinner. My father died last spring and we get together with my mom fairly often because she gets lonely and misses the kids. I still have a 15 year old daughter and 12 year old son at home, and a 20 year old daughter at Ball State. The younger kids are with me whenever they are not with their mom, as we have joint custody of them. Our divorce is not like most, in that we co-parent and get along well most of the time. I am grateful for that as not everyone’s experience is the same.
I am wrapping up my evening with a couple of televised basketball games. Sports are a constant viewing experience/background noise at my house, although I don’t watch many other programs. In my other free time, I like listening to music or walking for recreation and exercise, but those are stories for another day…