"We're 4 hours from home, and you want to adopt a cat?" The second half of 2019 was a bit of a blur. In July we'd gone to Washington, D.C. for the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 landing. When we got back, Kassie had taken a turn for the worse, and we lost her on August 7th. In October, we helped host the NC state USPSA championship at the range near our house. In early November, we drove to Nationals in Florida, with stops in Huntsville and Chattanooga on the scenic route … (Continued)
It's natural that learning to do something yourself gives you a greater appreciation for those that have already done it. Building your own bookshelf makes you realize all the non-obvious challenges of carpentry and gives you respect for everyone else that has undertaken the same challenge before you. In parallel, one of the surprising things I've learned becoming a father is realizing how very much it is a choice, at least in the modern era. Going through the process of deciding when to start … (Continued)
Today is my birthday. I've had a few of them before, but for some reason this one feels different. Of course, this is the first birthday I've had since becoming a father, but this feeling, I think, is larger than that. The best way I can describe it is synchrony. Things feel to be happening at approximately the right time in various areas of my life. I don't feel like I've waited too long to start anything, in part by charging headlong into each phase: getting married, paying off debt, buying a … (Continued)
Tonight was the toughest I've had this week. I finished work, feeling drained. Steph and I walked around the neighborhood with the dog, I made dinner, we ate dinner. I had the whole evening. I sat down to write another blog post like yesterday's, since it seemed to resonate and was really thrilling to write. It didn't work. I can't summon that on demand. I had good raw materials yesterday and bupkis today. I puttered around for a while. I tried to read. I went upstairs to for something. I saw … (Continued)
"So, what do we do?" "We keep her going as long as she'll eat. And when she stops eating, we'll know it's time." There's no easy way to have a conversation about cancer, even when it's about a cat. But having the conversation over the phone doesn't make it any easier. And so, there I was, sitting there on the couch, talking to Steph on the phone. Telling her the ultrasound at the vet showed some kind of cancer, lymphoma or stomach or something, … (Continued)
