“Inertia,” says Merriam-Webster, is “a property of matter by which it remains at rest or in uniform motion in the same straight line unless acted upon by some external force.” I’m planning to bookmark this for the next time Charlotte complains about how hard it is to rouse me from an afternoon nap. “Inertia, honey; […]
Dear Citizens of Amarillo, I apologize for calling you thieves. It started when I went for an early morning bike ride, then moved some stuff to the new house, then showered and got ready for lunch—and, then, discovered it was gone. My wallet—obviously one of you had entered my unlocked front door and taken it. […]
Went to church on Father’s Day, then met Chrystelle who returned to her apartment to pick up some clothes. She won’t live there again for some time. A long time. Maybe never. I guess all of us were getting back to normal today. Normal—what is that exactly? Days without tragedy? Where bad things don’t happen […]
Willance didn’t make it. Went too long without oxygen. That simple. But there’s nothing simple about grief. What can I say? My heart is broken—grief multiplied by all the broken hearts of those who loved Williance. Of course, as a Christian, the feelings are mixed with hope. Williance came from a community who shared a […]
Please pray for my friend Williance. He is from Cameroon and married to Chrystelle, one of my all-time favorite students. This young couple left their home country nearly five years ago—he to France and she to the U.S.—so they could one day make a successful life together. Chrystelle flew to Paris in December of 2014 […]
Tom Sightings, author of You Only Retire Once, suggests that new retirees take a gap year before settling in a new place or vocation. It’s a practice of many young people who spend a year immediately after high school or college traveling, working, maybe volunteering somewhere (often overseas) to gain experience and perspective for the […]
About to get on my bicycle this morning, early because it’s going to be another scorcher (topped 100 in Amarillo yesterday). With the cleaning and moving of the last few days, I’ve missed regular biking, but I don’t plan to miss much of it in the days to come. Because hopping on that Bianchi mountain […]
Fifteen days into retirement and I have some observations. One, I’m much busier than I would have thought had I made a prediction, say, a year ago. Selling a house and building one are time-consuming. Two, I’m doing things now—important things—that I would not have time for if still working full-time. Three, the two activities […]
I expected it to be traumatic, even tearful, the moment we pulled the door shut on 2919 Mable for the last time. The reality was more earthy—two tired, sweaty bodies, relieved we got out before the new owners’ walk-through at 5:30. Talked about it as we drove away—how we had been leaving this place emotionally, […]
Today is Dad’s birthday. He would have been 93. My dad was my role model. He taught me that true leaders are servants, that giving is a lifestyle and that real encouragers show up when we deserve them least. Today, I’m thinking about what Dad taught about retirement. Because of a late-in-life financial setback, he […]