Well, maybe I am not that sick, but I sure feel yucky. I have been pretty healthy, all things considered, since this time last year. However, over the last few days I have had bad headaches and then last night I developed a whopper of a cold. I am all stuffed up, nose running, and generally feeling yucky. I stayed home today from work because of that. It was nice to be a little light on stress for a change, but tomorrow I can’t afford to miss, so back to the sweat shop it is.
Well, this weekend was an exercise in parenting worrying. I think those two terms seem to go together well. Chris came down to see us. That was the good part. The bad part, for him, and us happened on Sunday. He unfortunately had to drive home on I-80. There was a massive pile up between Rawlins and Laramie around Elk Mountain. That section of road is one of the worst in the country. The wind, the ice that comes from ground blizzards, and so forth is really bad and I guess 20 cars didn’t manage it well and up to 6 people were killed.
The closed the interstate between Rawlins and Laramie and everyone got stuck there. I can only imagine what it was like. I have been stuck between Laramie and Cheyenne before, and once down in Ft. Collins. It must have been a zoo, and Chris was stuck there in the midst of it all. All we could do was sit, and worry, which both Bonnie and I did. Bonnie worried the most, and was a nervous wreck, until we heard they had been let go at 8am Monday morning, and then we got the message that he had arrived home. She was also worried about Brian driving to Laramie. In any event, it was a night of being worried. That is what parenting is all about.
Well, last night Julie and I were coming back from Salt Lake when we received a call from Ross and Mary Cox asking us to come help them load some big drywall into their new addition on their house. We stayed and helped them hang drywall. Those of you who know me also know I have absolutely now talent when it comes to anything that requires the use of my hands, particularly construction related activities. That he allowed us to help him was a miracle. That we were able to provide any real help is even more of a miracle. I am actually learning a little bit about how to hand drywall and build a house. Will wonders never cease? Life is always a challenge and always is interesting.
Bonnie, Julie, and I went over to the Republican Party precinct caucus meetings tonight. Yes, I am a Republican and proud of it. While that doesn’t mean that I support every policy of the a Republican politician, it does mean that I believe enough in the political process of this country, and in the responsibility of the citizenry to be involved, that I go. I was elected as a precinct official and I will do my best to discharge my responsibilities. Yes, I am a compulsive joiner and I did it again tonight. Well, so what, this my country, I believe in it, and I care how it is run. I am sure that this will be an interesting experience.
Went yesterday to “help” my brother in law with his house project. Maybe I should say “cause trouble” instead. I came away wondering again if in his mind, he was thankful I was finally walking out the door. We were sheet rocking and you can tell that I am certainly an amateur at this business. I felt sorry for him that he had to resort to my “helping” him.
I haven’t slept well for a while, and last night I didn’t sleep at all. That makes for a day that you are almost falling asleep whether it is sitting in church, driving a car, or at a family event. This is a bad state of being to be in. I need to get some sleep.
Spent the evening acting as the moderator of Financial Peace University. It is interesting talking to people about their money. Many of them don’t want to say much of anything. We humans are all alike. We are very close to the vest when talking about money. I am uncomfortable sometimes asking the questions. Are we ever going to obtain Financial Peace?
Bonnie and I recently had lunch in Salt Lake with old friends. The Taylors are good friends that we first met in Michigan many years ago. When you live somewhere a long way from “home†the home that you knew and grew up in, you tend to look for people with whom you can relate.
The Taylors are such people. We met them first in Detroit in our church. We immediately connected with them emotionally and spiritually. It is refreshing to know that after 20 years of really not seeing them that the same connection is still there. We had lunch with them and it was like old times. We enjoyed what they had to say and we enjoyed catching up with their lives. Old friends are great to see again.
Things have been pretty hectic at work. The nature of banking is such that it has become more stressful as the world has changed. That is pretty much the way everything is becoming. Life is becoming so hectic, that many of us want to make a change in direction. Whether we are successful in doing that is another matter though. I know I would like to change my direction right now, but the question is, am I getting to old to take on a different course in life. News at 5pm.
Stress does a lot of crazy things to you. I slept a little lightly last night, and this morning I woke up thinking of one of my favorite musical groups, the Beatles. The song Hey Jude has just been running through my mind, over, and over, and over.
Hey Jude, don’t make it bad
Take a sad song and make it better
Remember to let her into your heart
Then you can start to make it better
Hey Jude, don’t be afraid
You were made to go out and get her
The minute you let her under your skin
Then you begin to make it better
And anytime you feel a pain, hey Jude, refrain
Don’t carry the world upon your shoulders
For well you know that it’s a fool who plays it cool
By making his world a little colder
Hey Jude, don’t let me down
You has found her, go out and get her
Remember to let her into your heart
Then you can start to make it better
So let it out and let it in, hey Jude, begin
You’re waiting for someone to perform with
And don’t you know that it’s just you, hey Jude, you’ll do
The movement you need is on your shoulder
Hey Jude, don’t make it bad
Take a sad song and make it better
Remember to let her into you heart,
Then you can start to make it
Better, better, better, better, better, better, whooooooah, YEAH.
Na na na, na-na-na-na, na-na-na-na, hey Jude…
Na na na, na-na-na-na, na-na-na-na, hey Jude…
(repeat 9 times)
It’s funny how you will get going on that one type of thing, a song, a poem, or a memory, that will just keep coming back to you in a very short space of time. I have good memories of when I was that age. The world, though complicated, could be conquered. I was going to achieve everything I ever wanted to in life, and everything would bow to my will. How reality is different from what we ever remotely imagined.