Mondays! in Day by Day

It certainly is a Monday! I wanted to stay in bed a little longer this morning (cooler weather), but got up to get ready for my pedicure appointment, only to find out an hour later that the appointment is for TOMORROW Alrighty then! Guess I’ve got a jump on the day, which is probably a good thing. I have a magazine article to submit, an appointment to make, laundry, and non-profit stuff to do on top of the usual business paperwork and household chores.

One incoming call was welcome news. I am no longer a witness in a murder trial! This goes back nearly a year, when my younger brother, Bruce, was dying. We were driving back & forth to Tampa on a daily basis, so would roll in after dark, have a quick supper, and fall into bed.

I awoke one morning, rolled up the shade, and saw my dead-end street cordoned off with police tape and at least a dozen policemen standing over a dead body on my neighbor’s lawn!

After several months of answering questions and wondering why there was such a ruckus on our quiet little street, it turned out that it was a man who lived a couple of subdivisions away. He’d bought opioids from a dealer at the gas station down the street, walked into our neighborhood and died in the wee hours of the morning.

The police used the gas station camera footage to charge the dealer with murder. So the District Attorney’s office is ready to go to trial and served everyone on our street with a subpoena. He was on a fishing expedition and I explained, several times, that we did not hear or see anything. So they finally called this morning to tell me we are both excused. Bizarre.

Work is exploding again. They say we’re headed toward another recession. If so, this feels like the boom before the bust, so I’m trying to be prepared. Rather than spending freely, I’m getting ahead on mortgage payments (we like to keep a year ahead in case one or the other dies…takes pressure off the surviving spouse) and adding to my retirement account. I start collecting Social Security in October. Can’t wait!

My husband will never fully retire, but I do hope to slow him down a little. I appreciate that he’s a hard worker, but it’s taking a toll and he needs to do more puttering around. He wants to, he’s just not that good at it. So we are closing our doors in February 2019 and my husband will work under our son’s business, which works out perfectly for all parties.

Son is happy to have his dad at his beck and call and won’t worry if work becomes slack or if he’s strapped for cash temporarily because we are not dependent on the extra income. Not that it’s not nice to have a paycheck, but if he needs us to wait, we can wait. My husband is happy because he will still work but not as much, and I’m happy because I will see him resting more.

I got an e-mail from my stepmother who lives on the New England coast: “Yes, the weather here has been crazy, but we are ok and just REALLY impatient for spring. The high tides from the big weekend storm were potentially dangerous, though luckily we did not have water in our house. And best of all, only momentary power loss. We did have a front row seat, though, to see Motif #1 partially under water, and amazing objects - including a Porta Potty, sail by our windows. The wind gusts are still raging up to 60 mph, and another snow storm is forecast for Wednesday. Oh well… I watch the news clips from Red Sox spring training - all that sunshine and the fans in shorts - and think of you! “

The weather here has been lovely: low humidity, crisp blue skies, soft coastal breezes, and daytime temperatures in the mid 70s. Nights cool down into the mid 60s, perfect for sleeping!

It looks like the Norway trip is ON! It will cost a small fortune to fly first class, but an 8 to 9 hour flight will be hard enough on me as it is. I’m excited to be going, though! I have to do some research on places to visit (we will be going to Tromso for the northern lights, Oslo, and Bergen, but there will be time for more).

Well, it was fun chatting, but I must go. I wish you all a happy, productive week!