Thursday’s Thirst

I spent last night at Weber’s Inn of Ann Arbor.  No – Monica did not ask for a “little space” or a “little time for me to be away.”  Retirement is going very well.  We (at least, I – I probably should not be proclaiming an assumption here … though we often complete each other’s sentences at home, I try to limit how often I do it in public) are enjoying our extra time together.  We are finding a pleasant balance of time together and apart.  We even enjoy going grocery shopping together – though we do not do it every time.  In other words, my view of retirement at this time is “beautiful”.

I am finally giving in – whatever that means.  My laptop, which has been warning me for over a year, now completely refuses to type the fourth letter in the alphabet!  This makes typing something like this – along with virtually everything else – nearly impossible.  Talk about frustrating!  The three options I have come to are a) an over-reliance upon spell-check (which, unfortunately will not help every time), b) copy the letter from a previous document to be pasted in place whenever necessary, or c) insert an “x” every time I should be using that letter between C + E.  A fourth option, which I could not include in the previous sentence for obvious reasons, is to consistently use vocabulary options that will not require the use of that certain letter.

It is difficult for me to use the term “losers” these days without thinking of our Detroit Tigers.  While I have not taken the time to actually look up the statistics, I believe their main problem this year has been losing streaks.  How many times have they gone into a funk and then lost 5 or more games in a row!

Well, well, all is well … now!  However, things were not so well one week ago today.  How suddenly and quickly things can change … and how important it is for us to be flexible and patient … and trusting that our Lord will provide – even when things are not lining up as we had hoped.

Birth Certificates?  Check.  Identification with Picture?  Check.  Official Photographs?  Check.  Completed Applications?  Check.  Checkbook?  Check.  We had everything we needed as we drove to the Mount Clemens Post Office for our 11:00 a.m. appointment.  The line was short … the process was efficient … all of the people were exceptionally friendly … and there were no surprises or hiccups.  We were back in our van headed home by 11:15, and in something like 10-13 weeks we should be receiving our first-ever passports.

Ever since we moved from our home in Eastpointe to the condo (7 years ago), we have been in regular contact with the Vietnam Veterans of America (VVA).  In particular, we place unwanted and slightly used items in boxes and bags, go to their website to book a pickup date, and then appropriately place the items on our front porch.  There was a time when they seemed to be coming weekly for up to a dozen boxes each time.  Now the visits are much farther apart and the number of boxes smaller.

The MLB Trade Deadline each year is somewhere around July 31.  This year it was 6:00 p.m. on August 1 … and, just as happened a few years ago, Justin Verlander was traded to the Houston Astros.  Max Scherzer is now with the Texas Rangers, Jamer Candelario is back with the Chicago Cubs, and Michael Lorenzen will finish the season in Philadelphia.  Edwin Rodriguez used a clause in his contract to nix a trade, preferring to remain a Tiger, at least for the rest of this season.

The week has been very busy, but that really is no excuse.  The truth is, I did not even wake up early enough to get an early start today.  I simply have no excuse for not having this one on time.

After sending our last week’s “Thirst”, I resolved to push myself a little this week, with the intent of getting at least a little resemblance to a routine going in my life,  Thus I have risen from bed a little earlier than previous weeks, while trying to retire approximately the same time each evening.  After being very irregular in exercising for a long time, I have walked every morning – though only half the distance of my previous days.  It is my theory that these little adjustments will improve my sleep and health.

Initially I thought the headline for today should be “Unproductive and Unmotivated” but then switched to “Slow and Slower” as I realized I possessed the desire to write and send this but would never accomplish it by Thursday morning. Hopefully you will see me as “semi-productive and semi-motivated” at this time. And, perhaps, as one of my sons suggested, in the future I will eliminate “Thursday” from the major heading, and just call these things “Thirst”!