A Winter Wonderland, Discipline, Ending the Year Strong, Improvement / Enjoyment
“If the world were merely seductive, that would be easy. If it were merely challenging, that would be no problem. But I arise in the morning torn between a desire to improve the world and a desire to enjoy the world. This makes it hard to plan the day.”
Good morning from a winter wonderland; we have about 12 inches and expect to get a little more; it’s 1 degree outside, freezing if you will. We will enjoy a lovely day of calls, errands, appointments, and solving the problems of the world. That’s our mission; we will see how we fare.
An update on Parker Van Halen Thompson, our new family members, day 2, no accidents, no barks, does not whine when we put her to bed, slept through 6:00 a.m. today, so far so good. For those that missed yesterday’s soup, she’s a Catahoula, aka a hog dog, and this hog dog farts like a man. Aside from the farting, we think we have a smart little girl. She began sitting on command yesterday; kibble is a Godsend.
According to my Queen, the snow outside (she took PVHT out for her first walk this morning) is stunning, light, squeezy, like cheese curds from Wisconsin, the snow squeaks. We often joke that cheese curds from WI are the only ones that squeak; the snow here is similar, not all snow is like CO snow. I’ve reached out to my snowplow friend Kevin, soon he will be over, plow us out, and we can hit the road.
We relaxed this weekend; I penned some soup, we cleaned up some work but focused on us, our relationship, cuddling, holding hands, kissing, all those things that most do at the beginning of a relationship but ten years end is nowhere to be found, we won’t lose that spark. We are genuinely in love.
Sober day 26, I phoned Mom and Dad yesterday; they were proud of me, but like most are not satisfied with my one month vacation from devils water, they want two. Pro-tip, if someone you love is doing something cool, acknowledge and appreciate the work, don’t push for more, enjoy their journey, and be thankful for the work being done.
We are happy, healthy, and have the discipline that many don’t possess, but we know us; we know what we need to do to keep our surfboard steady though waves of life; our surfboard is built for two, we like it that way, most surf alone, we are in this tighter, it’s the two of us against the rest of you.
My guitar has been in my hands more this month; I grab it often, run through some chords, or make up a chord now and then; I can’t play, but I can play around, and for me, that’s fine, a few C, D, G’s now and then, make me smile. I have an app that can show me how to play any song; when I hear a song I’d like to play, I bring up the app and learn it, slowly, not well, but I can strum along. My music is akin to my writing, a little outlet for my artistic self.
My books seem to land in my hands as well/ More time for my mind, less for my stomach; I think that is what Sober October does; it reminds us of the value of our clear reasons. Alcohol has a place in our lives; it’s not an end all be all solution; balance with everything is key to a beautiful life.
We have our snowshoes; it might be time for a little hike up our drive, maybe a short walk this morning, trying out our new tools. We look forward to the early mornings meeting friends, hiking before sunrise, and then joining all back for a bowl of soup. That is our winter plan, work hard, snowshoe, and eat soup. I think it a simple method for a simple time.
The social media holiday continues to provide time and reflection. No longer am I reviewing the lives of others; I’m focused on my life. I’m not sharing what I do, keep it secret, allowing others to wonder what we are doing; I don’t know if I’ll return; I post my soup daily, check the feed once, and then let is sail like a boat with no direction, I’m free, praise the Lord, I’m free. No chains are holding me. I’ve got a freedom today that I’ve not experienced in many years.
I guess there is an election in a week or so. I’ve voted, I’ve done all I can, I encourage you to do the same. I suspect violence will break out no matter the victor; I like our chances, far away from urban society’s madness and unrest. I’m now thinking a rural existence is best for my Queen and me; we will always have a home in the city, but the rural lifestyle fits our current mood.
We have no plans to travel; before 2020, we went to Mexico a couple of times this year. We will stay home, hibernate, enjoy our home, the new pup, cats, food, and drink. It will be the winter of love; we just concluded the summer of love and the fall of meeting new friends. We seem to be expanding our friend base; new people join us weekly; it’s a tribe thing, maybe a frequency or vibration issues, we seem to be getting pushed together.
There will be no glorious sunrise this morning; the clouds will hide my morning show, but I know it’s there; it will return, maybe tomorrow, but for now, I trust the sun is rising and doing her job. I think that is my message today, do your job, whatever your job might be. My job is running a company with my Queen, and I’ll do my part to keep our boat afloat in the ocean.
Our team continues to outperform expectations; our service staff is rocking as is our sales staff, the economy is returning, now is not the time to sit on thy hands, get up, get out, shake a bush or dare I say your moneymaker. It’s the last quarter of the game. Have you checked the score? Are you in the lead or getting blown out? What plays do you need to run so that you are dancing on the field? Do not hang your head and stroll into the locker room at the end of the year? Finish strong and get to work on that 2021 plan; the time is now to change, evolve, and be your best self.
“If the world were merely seductive, that would be easy. If it were merely challenging, that would be no problem. But I arise in the morning torn between a desire to improve the world and a desire to enjoy the world. This makes it hard to plan the day.”