Gone
What? The two paragraphs on the screen are what I wrote last night and my newest six or seven are nowhere in sight. No worries; I’ll just go back a page in the browser and copy the text from history. No history. No extra text. Just those two stupid paragraphs from last night. After a few frantic minutes of useless recovery techniques, I had to admit that I screwed up. There was no way out of this one. My bag of technical tricks was empty and my words were gone. Just. Gone.
Writing
I was watching Almost Famous for not the first time and I saw the movie from a completely different perspective—the perspective of a writer. Normally I’m watching William, the main character, deal with the rock and roll lifestyle and his love interest while touring with the band—the fact that he has a writing assignment is just how he gets into this situation. This time, the process of his article being published as a cover story in Rolling Stone magazine struck me. I was so happy for his success that it made me think about why I write.
Letting Go
Our house had to be fixed up. Our stuff had to be reduced. Two of our children had to find places to live. And all this had to happen in less than three months.
One way to get your kids to move out is to sell the house out from under them: “You either have to get an apartment or cozy up to the new owners. Your choice.”
Embraced
Embrace is a glorious word. More than just a hug, it suggests love and enthusiasm and holding on for dear life—never wanting to let go. It’s a high compliment when someone says that I’ve embraced my new life. I want to be that guy who goes all in.
I mean, why not? Why bother moving from the Gulf Coast to the West Coast if you’re not going to squeeze every ounce of enjoyment out of it?
Connections
His date had brought her friend and neighbor, Judy, to the rink that night and, after introducing us, she and I were left alone together as our mutual friends skated. She was kind enough to look past my bad hair and skate with me.
A Beatles song came on as we coasted around the oval and we discovered that we both loved their music—our first connection. This got me a second date. As we spent more time together, we found more commonalities and our relationship grew.
I owe Brian everything for making this connection and for opening the door to the 36 happiest years of my life.
Gratitude
That has brought me back to gratitude. I know that being thankful for what I have been given is critical to living a happy life. Unfortunately, there are times when I keep gratitude an arm’s length away. At those times, the funk that comes over me is emotional junk food—I know it’s not good for me, but I’m ingesting it anyway. A little funk is easy to digest and let pass, but too much and it affects me at the physical, emotional, and intellectual levels. The best way out is the cleansing power of gratitude.
Identity
During one of our weekend walks exploring San Francisco, Judy asked some tough questions of herself, “Am I the person I want to be? Who am I?”
Without getting too philosophical, these are questions that deserve time and thought. I think they help us focus our efforts and energy in life. Asking myself these questions sent me back to my youth to discover who I am today.
Quality of Life
There has to be a balance between maintaining good health and enjoying life. I’ll exercise more, so I can enjoy the occasional pizza or butter-infused French cuisine. I will not sacrifice my quality of life by abusing my body, but I also won’t trade it for a bland existence. I hope I’ve found a way to embrace the gusto my father had in his life without falling into his short-sighted failings. Today, I feel like I’m doing well with my balance.