This evening Dena and I just returned from a fairly-weekly trip out to the Stevenson tennis courts. We're a good match for each other. There's no interest in winning whatsoever. At least not in terms of points gained. We try to hit it back and forth as many times consecutively as possible without it getting stuck in the net or the back fence. Tonight we set a record of 89 times. It's a good symbol of our marriage. Non-competitive, mutually supportive, steady, healthy, and fun.
I had my annual visit to the dermatologist. With each year it gets more satisfying to get a clean bill of health. And it brings to mind so many modern products that keep hair and skin in good condition. Sunscreen, hydrocortisone, moisturizer, hairspray.
Speaking of which, in an event of minor significance this week I bought a new hairspray. In typical fashion, it was because the store didn't carry the White Rain brand I'd been using for more than twenty years. So I grabbed the only one I could find, Consort. The brand that my dad used. Maybe it's a smile of destiny that I made the switch this week, when Dad would've turned 78. I think I'll stick with it. The man had great hair. And according to the doctor, I've got still got a thick head of it myself, despite some worrisome recent shedding that she said is simply periodic in everyone (with hair). Honorable mention goes to the invention of sunglasses. I totally get why Neanderthals had the overhanging eyebrows. Fortunately, once sunglasses were invented, the trait receded.
Modern medicine also includes colonoscopies... which I'll be visiting with Mom this week to help chaperone for her. The flexibility to do so is just one more reason why self-employment has been such a blessing. And it was a good week on the tutoring front. I did a satisfactory job helping all the students that came through the Heartland lab. Got a new student through a church referral, another through a counselor referral. It's the busiest I've been this early in a semester, possibly as many as nine hours a week.
Leadership McLean County's orientation got off to a spirited start. Thirty of us did an ice breaker, took a survey, and had a reflective discussion of the most important qualities of leaders. Cookies and coffee helped. It was a primer for a nine-month journey of education and networking that should also help my business, as well as being fun.
I'm lucky to have had the opportunities to shepherd child and adult students, and to have the passion and gifts to do so with enthusiasm.
This week's reminder of the haven we live in... need look no further than the turmoil in Syria. The threat of war is nearly never on our doorstep. We bask under an umbrella of domestic peace. Thanks once again to our military who help keep it that way.
Speaking of domestic peace, I could have sworn that a mouse-like smell was filtering through the house. I ramped up the number of traps, but it turned out to be an empty menace.
Alabama rolled to a week 1 win. My fantasy baseball league with Jack ran to a three-week winning streak just as the playoffs are closing in.
Reminded again what a prize music is to us all. It's been proven to help boost creativity scientifically. It shapes our moods to almost any place we'd like to go. And it gives me the chance to be with a group of caring musicians at Epiphany, and to provide worship energy to hundreds.
Finally, even my night-owl self has found it easy to rise at 6 a.m. to be with the coaches of Normal Community High School who have banded on a quest to bring leadership principles of service and humility.
Seemingly everywhere I go this week has been embraced with security, adventure, learning, promise and health. May the fortune of God carry us all this holiday week.
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