Today I woke up to a panic from the past. In my half asleep state I heard the haunting sound of the garbage tuck and immediately traveled back in time to a point where I lived in this neighborhood. I had one of those half awake dreams where I was trying to remember if I took the recycling down to the curb last night. So real was the sensation that I sat up in an unfamiliar bedroom and remembered that I walk my target bag half full of detritus to the garbage chute every morning on the way out the door. I haven’t wrestled a frozen can in more than a year.
I did look out to see if my host got his stuff to the curb and it was there as expected. I’m not sure I’ve mentioned it before but I am lucky enough to have an unmarried friend who lives in my old neighborhood with room to spare and a generous disposition. I have my own code to get in and the damn house greets me on arrival with clicks and bells. John (the innkeeper) talks to it but I’m not that comfortable with the matrix just jet so I keep my interactions to a minimum.
The other beauty is we see each other when it works. Yesterday I was massively hungover from visiting another friend and his family the night before. Only in the harsh light of day did I realize that driving home was poor decision making so I placed myself in timeout for the day. I awoke with a taste for ribs and my host is a bit of a mental patient when it comes to cooking meats so we spent the day watching football and smoking pig parts. A perfect Saturday night led in to a complete perfect Sunday. Today I’m headed up to see one of my daughters and tomorrow I’ll see the other. The secret is to keep yourself busy which makes it tough to climb into your brain.
I also realized this morning that I need to get better at PTO. I am burning off time that would be lost if I didn’t take it before the calendar changes. I think this last year I have completely shifted all focus to work and I need a little balance. The recent rough patch doesn’t help my mental state either. When all of your eggs are in one basket shit gets uncomfortable when said basket wears thin.
It’s a Monday morning on a vacation week and I’m up showered, dressed, and ready to start a day without agenda. I will now head over or he pile of unread books I’ve been meaning to finish and get to work. I can never retire unless I find someone to hang out with or a series of interesting hobbies.