Life's good

I don’t have a lot to report this evening, but I figured I’d try to put something up here that’s a little more upbeat since I’ve been slacking off in general, and complaining in particular. So in spite of having to switch to cable before I puked while the president spoke of national security during the 9/11 tele-blitz, life’s good.

Now that my wife has settled down a little, and joined me in my embrace of temporary (?) unemployment, life really is good. Thanks to overprogramming, my kids have pretty much settled in officially in our new home. They’ve escorted us to about 15 soccer games and half as many football games in the last three weeks, one has joined band (in 5th grade!! – sorry Ray, she chose percussion... plans for the family blues band are coming together) and we’ve all joined the homework hotline in our house and refreshed some fundamental academic skills we thought we’d never use again.

I’ve actually turned a job down while my wife accepted one, even though she swore she’d never work in the auto industry again. I’ve got an offer on the hook now, and hope to have another after an interview in a week or so, and I continue to find opportunities where I thought there were none. I’ve spent a day substitute teaching, and a week as a substitute custodian (I figure getting my face known in a district comes in many forms).

The “extra house” I left behind in this complex transaction had a couple of bites the first week it was listed and I’m really, really enjoying being back in the hometown I thought I’d never leave. So if you don’t count the fact that I’m paying more per month for temporary health insurance than I paid for my first two cars, and that I’ve been unemployed now longer than I ever have been since high school - and really, those are minor issues in the grand scheme - life really is good.

It’s funny that I recall so vividly my high school chums lamenting that they couldn’t wait to get out of this town. I never thought that. It always seemed like a pretty good place to hang out. But then I left for college and never quite made it back. I never really realized how much I missed it. What’s really funny is how many of those chums never left. Maybe they wised up... maybe their complaints were just teen angst. I had plenty of that, and I may have even uttered those words at some point, but I never pictured myself anywhere else. Some of those guys have moved on to bigger and better and I miss them now that I’m back, but the ones who stayed fill me in on their stories and even that’s been fun.

So here I am, picking up where I left off. At times I feel like I’m finally in control of something. Other times it feels like my life is spinning out of control... which is actually more comfortable and familiar for me. My biggest anxiety remains the comfort and happiness of my family and I know that wouldn’t be any different no matter where we lived. Here though, I feel like I know where I’m going, what I’m doing and though I’m sure it’s a deceivingly false sense of security, I have a confidence in my ability to promote that comfort and happiness that I never really felt anywhere else. It’s as though when the spinning stops momentarily, at least I land in familiar territory... and can get everyone home safely.

It’s good to be back. Life’s good... did I already mention that?