Adjusting to a new chapter

   Writing has been slow as of late. Perhaps it is on a parallel course with life.

Last year it seemed as though we were running somewhere every evening after work. Our daughter kept us busy. It was her senior year in high school. It seemed as though we were attending a different function every other night just trying to keep up with her. The last few weeks of high school we had multiple activities almost daily. And then it ended!

   Life is still. Michaela began her first job and is starting college in a week. Many evenings it is just Mandy and I at home. It is a quiet time but it has its own special beauty. Michaela is transitioning into adulthood and adjustioning quite well to the new responsibilities. She opened her first checking account and religiously saves for the third of tuition we require her to pay herself. It is not that we cannot afford to pay all her tuition but rather we want her to have a vested interest in her future. We took her to our insurance agent and allowed her to choose her insurance options. I was pleased that after speaking to the agent, she chose wisely. I think we did a good job. We are pleased. As Mandy and I adjust to a semi-empty nest we struggle to fill the empty hours. Thank goodness the walking dead starts in 6 weeks!!!

   Summer is over. We washed the boat and cleaned up the interior and hung all the lifejackets and wetsuits up until next year. 

Last weekend I rolled the snowmobile trailer into the garage and started getting the sleds ready for winter. Hunting season starts in a few weeks. I'm looking forward to my 10 days in the wilderness chasing elk up and down the mountains of the Pacific Northwest. With all of our free time, we have been working on projects around the house that previously we never had time to complete. 

We have decided that we won't be taking any vacations for the next two years. Our home was built in 1979 and although it has had significant upgrades it is beginning to show its age. In the next two years we hope to paint, re-roof, install new carpet and flooring, and finish the landscaping. It will be a huge undertaking. In some ways I feel I don't exercise a lot of common sense. I've always been too stubborn to pay somebody to do something I know I can do myself. If the car breaks down I fix it. I do all of my own home repairs. The list is extensive. I am fairly competent at drywall, electrical, plumbing and general carpentry. Sometimes I wonder if I will ever reach the age where I decide to take the car to oil can Henry's for an oil change instead of getting down on a creeper and doing it myself.

   It is a quiet time. I think I'm going to like this new chapter.

   On the cancer front, nothing has changed. My last PSA came back as undetectable. Life is very good.

  We found the boat we hope to buy in the spring. It will be hard selling our current boat. We have had five years of wonderful memories of fun in the sun. The family however, is getting bigger. I have six granddaughters and another grandchild on the way. Michaela has been dating the same boy for a year and a half now. I think they are starting to get serious. Soon there will be more grandchildren to teach how to water ski. That's all I have for now I will be writing more soon.