44

I've been trying to write a blog about my 44th birthday since well before my 44th birthday.

Babies. They take up a lot of your spare time.

Anyway, I feel pretty happy and content at 44. Our sons are in the process of launching, which is great fun to watch. Our dog is getting a grey muzzle and continues to be a source of mirth. Our marriage is better than ever. We are s-l-o-w-l-y picking away at things that need to be done in our home. I am in decent shape though I would like to be more disciplined at working out.

I can't wait to take Harmony to work on the bike. It seems the only way I can actually get exercise is to make it part of how I get around in a day.

And then there is work. Wow. Work has been good. We just climbed the last mountain of the past few months.

First there was a broken commercial dishwasher and no money to get a new one.
Miraculous events beyond my control resulted in a new dishwasher plus extra money.

Then there was a break in.
Miraculous events beyond my control resulted in a 100-fold return on books and toys. We went from planning a wee book corner with a chair to having a mini community library with over 4000 books and more to replenish the shelves when those ones start depleting.

Then Sandy died.
We miss him.

Then we planned an event for 150 elementary and high school students.
No miraculous events, but we survived. Perhaps there is a miracle in that.

Anyway, after all that, I'm going to take some time to coast. I always find myself wanting to plan the next thing. In this case, I'd love to plan for a new kitchen that would allow us to do more teaching and more catering. But, as my wise board member and friend said, 'wait for the strategic planning.'

That is in April. It would be good, smart, wise to wait.