Sunday, October 7, 2012

Autumn Chillin': The Week In Thanks

This week's gleeful chorus begins with a shout out for NetFlix. At $8 a month I basically paid $2 this week, feasting on hours of Saturday Night Live, Amazing Stories (Steven Spielberg), and season 8 of The Office. Watched Super 8 for the second time, watched Captain America for the first. It's become a trusty companion when waking up, nodding off, or just daytime chillin'.

Once again... Sean and Jennifer Stevens are amazing. College aged, finding their way in the world, facing all the callings of church leadership, and embracing it all with a smile. We had a full band for today's Mass, and we rocked out on a couple songs and pieced together some pretty harmonies on others. Serving with them is the easiest decision I make all week next to brushing my teeth.

Speaking of teeth, it's time for a crown. The six-month checkup taught me how connected the sinuses are to tooth sensitivity. I thought it was silly that my teeth hurt when I blew my nose. Turns out it's normal. Still working up the determination to have the work done. It'll happen. Two false teeth and thirty natural ones, not a bad ratio.

R.I.P. autumn sickness. Last May's edition of the cold lingered for more than a month. This one's fading fast, with only a half-dozen rumpled Kleenexes to show for it today. The voice has never been seriously threatened by this one. Hopefully my immune system's good and ramped up for the winter now.

The little incision from the dermatologist is healing nicely. Neosporin rocks. The most noticeable evidence of it is actually the tan line from the band-aid. So yeah, it's all good.

I'm thankful for peanut butter. I have been chowing down on PB sandwiches at the fastest rate since  my bike had training wheels. Five or six a day. Protein's stuck well with me through this tasty treat, and in my wizened years I've come to like it especially on toasted whole grain wheat bread. There may be something to it, I increased my weight lifting max for the second time in a few weeks (still below your average circus clown, but improvement is improvement).

The Saturn's odometer continues to click away at about 6,500 miles a year. It says a lot about the type of lifestyle I've come to enjoy. Simple and easy. Two miles to work. A dozen blocks to the gym. Two miles to church. A mile to the store. Three miles to the library. It leaves plenty of time to meditate, relax, plan, dream, stretch, read, grow. And plenty of time to...

...hang with Dena! We spent the afternoon chatting in the kitchen while she baked some bread, talking about marriage and religion while kicking back in the living room while the Bears crushed the Jaguars in the background. Saturday night we snuggled up on the couch while watching T.V. We hit the sack early a couple times for some long nights of refreshing sleep.

The lessons from the past continue to brighten my present. Thursday was a punching-bag type day that knocked the wind out of my sails. I woke up determined to rebound on Friday, and it turned out to be the best work day of the week. Slumps are temporary unless they control you. No haunting here; the late rally set the stage for a truly peaceful weekend.

With faith, the sun will rise tomorrow, and only the leaves will fall. It's going to be a good week.

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