The 43

I'm nearly two weeks into a regularly scheduled vacation but three weeks into a semi-permanent vacation. On May 14, I was laid off from my job of more than 10 years.  To say it's been weird is an understatement. I won't delve into the details of the layoff -- I've thought about it too much already -- and I have leads and opportunities ahead.   I just ... can't ... seem ... to chill.  The vacation was already on the books, and it has been nice. The boys, Michael's girlfriend and I drove from Utah to Northern Wisconsin first. After a couple days there, we drove to Chicago, did some fun stuff, attended my cousin's wedding, and visited with family. The three kids returned to Utah, and I'm staying an extra week. I did this weeklong on-my-own trip to Chicago last year and loved it. I spent a day downtown, explored my old haunts, did some writing, visited friends, and unwound. I was planning it again for July, but then the layoff happened. I figured, if it...

I'm lucky to work for a company that offers a one-month paid sabbatical for every five years of service. I hit my 10th anniversary in January, so I was eligible for another sabbatical ... and I didn't waste time in taking it. I went off the clock nearly five weeks ago (I got a few extra days thanks to a weekend and a couple vacation days I tacked on) and have tried hard to not think about work and, instead, concentrate on relaxing, recharging, and refocusing. I wasn't totally successful in not thinking about work, but I still would say, mission accomplished. The month didn't go as quickly as I feared it would. I'm not in a rush to resume work again in the morning, but it wasn't a blink-and-miss-it sabbatical. I'm not at the end here thinking, "What did I do the last month?" With the first Joe-batical, I got to a point in which I seemed just a little meandering . I got some stuff done around the house and some writing, but there were too many days t...

Today is New Year's Day, 2025. Many people are dreading what this year might bring, and I'm trying to continue to stay purposefully ignorant of national events. I'm not too proud of that, but keeping my head in the sand has saved me from stress beyond my control. That has worked for three months now, before the election, and I've been surprised how easy it has been to avoid news websites. Again, not so proud of myself, but after literal decades craving news, I could use the break. Instead, I have watched and read about more sports, have read more, and have kept myself otherwise distracted. So with that out of the way, I'm still focused on what 2025 can be. I'm not one to make resolutions so casually, but I don't consider the following to be resolutions so much as goals. Here they are: Approach every day with overwhelming purpose Find ways to nourish my soul and well-being every day Enjoy the things I have, and work toward making it easier to be able to reach...

I'm finishing up my summer blogging today, Oct. 2. That makes total sense. I am really not sure why I'm so uninspired to write this blog. There is simply no energy or enthusiasm each evening to open the computer and write. Sitting on the porch to do so has felt like a chore. So here I am, the second day of October, trying to wrap up a summer of non-blogging. Unfortunately, my designated end of summer was four weeks ago, and I'm struggling to remember what the month between vacation and the start of the NFL season encompassed. We moved Ben into his dorm ... yeek, seven weeks ago. He's having a blast and is really loving his independence -- we see him once or twice a week, but hasn't felt homesick at all to spend a night back in his own bed.  So what else happened? The weather was unsurprisingly hot again, though we did manage a few rainstorms. We bought a new bed on Labor Day, and it has been wonderful. I participated in four fantasy football drafts. Adventures were ...

Normally -- at least I think normally -- when I'm blogging summer and on vacation, I am good at updating every day on the trip. In 2024, that hasn't been the case so much ... Benji and I have been in the Midwest for more than a week, but this is the first recap of the trip, and I'm trying to squeeze nine days of stuff into one post. Take a deep breath and follow along with me: We arrived on a Friday via Allegiant through Provo, and the flight was delayed after a computer on the plane was getting an error message. My dad picked us up from Midway, and through a lot of traffic we made it to SuperDawg. I was exhausted (I didn't sleep well the night before) and took too long a nap, but woke up and took Ben to Barnaby's for thin-crust pizza. Drove to Three Lakes to visit Lori's family, stopped Kopp's along the way (a lot of could-have-been-healthier eating will highlight this trip). Ben and I waded into Maple Lake -- damn those little fish, they freak me out when ...

Too many days without writing. The drive just isn't there right now. The heat has been overbearing. Work has been a bit of slog but not terrible. Lori and Michael were out of town for almost two weeks, Ben was out for one.  Ben completed his club swimming career, high school segment, with a solid state long-course meet. He will move into the dorms soon, and it still hasn't quite settled in. My knee has been a little sore, but I've been running a lot and eating moderately non-stupid ... and I'm the lightest I've been maybe before the pandemic. Not too many other highlights -- it's not easy when you don't blog for 18 days. Went to the doctor after feeling a combination of gas and pinched nerves that resulted in chest pains right around my heart. Everything checked out, but my PA wants me to see a cardiologist even though he is confident it wasn't heart-related. Sat in a dunk tank for the first time -- that was fun, if not totally juvenile (it was so hot, a...