Congratulations, Emily!

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Writer’s Note – I’ll continue to update my blog on a periodic basis.  No set schedule.  So, I want to thank everyone who continues to stop by and check out my blog. Please leave a comment or message; I’d love to hear from you.

May 20, 2016 – My daughter, Emily, graduated yesterday from the University of Maryland, which is located in College Park. Emily graduated with two (2) degrees and a multitude of honors.  To say that we’re proud of her would be an understatement.  She is a wonderful young woman, full of potential, with her entire adult life ahead of her.

A beautiful young woman.

It’s the thought of having an adult life that has Emily both worried and scared about her future. It’s normal to be apprehensive during the transition from college to the real world.  Emily’s not sure what she wants to do, and we (her mom and I) knew this well before her graduation.  In fact, we spent most of last summer (2015) telling her that it was okay to not have a plan for after graduation.  We told her as long as she found some kind of employment, she was welcome to move back home.  Our daughter has spent the last 16 years being on a schedule…an agenda of almost non-stop education. So, it’s time to take a break…better yet, take a breath.

Emily will likely be home with us for awhile,  which we’re looking forward to and wondering how much adjustment there will be around the house.  Vicki and I have been living as empty-nesters for about two years.  All of these changes should be interesting.

Emily and Granpa.

Oh, did I mention that it’s my birthday today? Yes, a wonderful birthday present!  A chance for my family and me to be together for two special occasions in one week.  In addition, my dad was in College Park for Emily’s graduation.  A special time indeed!

Thanks, as always, for listening.

April Showers….

A tiny visitor.

Unfortunately, my retirement was short-lived.  After about six weeks, I was back helping out my former bosses and beginning to work almost full time for a few weeks until a new replacement could be found.  Perhaps this time around, I’ll be able to focus on finding someone who will move my former position forward and reliably do the job.

Gardening has become my refuge – as it has for the past three years – from all of this turmoil. Planting flowers and pruning my existing plants calms me and gives me a tangible feeling of accomplishment.  Flowers are a thing of beauty.  Their natural perfection and color are awesome.  Made by nature, not man.  Yet, I have some control and some authority over my flowers and plants.  I can decide where they go, how much sun they’ll receive, and how big or small they will become.

Natural perfection!

It’s this feeling of control – or lack of control – that has me so frustrated and angry right now.  I don’t want to be at my old job.  I don’t want all of those headaches and problems any longer.  I don’t want to decide how to “handle things” or make decisions about someone’s future.  That is why I left the “work world” in mid-January…to get away from the daily grind and bullshit.

So gardening is my therapy – my way to get back some of that lost control and focus. The plants and their respective flower beds are my sanctuary against the man-made noise of work.  I know my time in the “work world” will end soon, but I’m so frustrated. Thank God – in more ways than one – for my plants!

Gorgeous and serene. Writer’s Note – I’ll continue to update my blog on a periodic basis.  No set schedule.  So, I want to thank everyone who continues to stop by and check out my blog. Please leave a comment or message; I’d love to hear from you. Note:  If you want to leave a comment, just choose “Anonymous” from the Profile Selection drop down bar right below the Comment box. (It’s the very last choice.)  Sorry for any confusion. Also, please make sure you leave your name or sign-in somewhere in your comment.  Thanks.

Purple Reign

Note:  If you want to leave a comment, just choose “Anonymous” from the Profile Selection drop down bar right below the Comment box. (It’s the very last choice.)  Sorry for any confusion.

Writer’s Note – I’ll continue to update my blog on a periodic basis.  No set schedule.  So, I want to thank everyone who continues to stop by and check out my blog. Please leave a comment or message; I’d love to hear from you.

April 22, 2016 – Prince (Prince Rogers Nelson) died yesterday at his home in Minnesota.  To borrow some lyrics from Neil Young:

Young, of course, was talking about the excesses of celebrity and hubris.  Unfortunately, those traits applied to Prince as well.  For that matter, they apply to many celebrities.  Don’t get me wrong – I loved Prince’s music.  He was an incredible artist and musician – especially as a guitarist.  As a performer, he was incredible.  But I just don’t get why people with so much talent, with so much ability, and with so much energy continue to crash and burn.  It’s sad, really sad.

As people worldwide mourn Prince’s death, I think again-and-again about how our lives on this planet seem so humdrum, so compressed, and so minuscule.  There is so much to live for and so much to accomplish in a relatively brief blip of time. Why can’t people realize there’s something precious about their existence?  Why can’t people enjoy the time that has been given to them?

I’m not much better than most folks in that regard.  I still gripe about the weather, the traffic, the neighbors, etc.  But I have begun to realize that I want to make my time on Earth count for something.  I want to finally do some things that I’ve always wanted to do: travel more, explore Memphis, write fiction, play my guitar, volunteer for causes that I care about.  Getting to these things, however, is more difficult than it seems.  Life always seems to get in the way.  I think everyone wants to do what they love, but we never can seem to find the time.

Maybe Prince captured the essence of life and time – and perhaps an omen of his own death – in these lyrics from Sign O’ The Times:

Thanks, as always, for listening.

Let’s Go Crazy…But, not too crazy!