Before leaving for Saturday’s walk, I had to outwait the rain. There are big promises in the coming days, and this little spritz this morning was just supposed to whet our appetites. I opted to finish up the French toast in the fridge rather than make whole-wheat toast. There is an equation I will likely need some AI help with: What is the necessary ratio of eating leftover food to making new food? Is there a variable for the number of participants on both the front end and back end of the equation? These are the questions that matter when you’re retired. I filled my wife’s coffee and heated the full cup for 30 seconds without adding any milk. No further barriers prevented me from leaving.
Before I reached the park to do my handful of laps, a car pulled to the curb right beside me. “Have you seen any dogs running around?” I hadn’t, so I replied accordingly. I thought it was wise that she hadn’t asked about a particular breed or flashed a poster at me. Maybe these dogs sneak under the fence or escape through the gate often. Getting too specific with people who aren’t dog people might result in a blank stare. This wasn’t her first dog-tracking rodeo.
As I entered my circular path, I painted a target on the backs of the two people ahead of me. I assumed they were mom and son. The target was figurative, although my competitive walking brain doesn’t always understand that distinction. When I’m walking solo, I choose my pace based on a complicated formula involving humidity, temperature and the intensity of my plantar fasciitis. When I share the path, I shift into high gear. I’d rather they eat my figurative dust than I eat theirs. Any pain I feel is secondary.
The first time I passed them was near the playground, where the dad and two other sons were “family-ing.” The next time I passed the playground, my lead was well established, and the youngest son, probably six, had just exclaimed, “I landed on my feet!” All the clues pointed to this being the first time he had let go of the swing chains and received a 10 from all of the judges. I didn’t stop to congratulate him, but I was rooting for the kid.
The rest of my interaction with the family was a little darker. As I wandered the path counterclockwise in my wide-brimmed hat and dark sunglasses, the young son separated from his two siblings and his parents. This put me between the parents and their impish child for most of a rotation. They yelled at him repeatedly, apparently trying to keep him from doing too much more wandering. The one time I passed him, I didn’t make faces or give him “cat claws.” I gave him an innocent smile that was mostly obscured by the hat. I’ve decided it’s best to save my scary faces for people who know I’m messing with them rather than unleashing them on complete strangers.
When I got back to the house, a quick look at my iPhone showed my wife was playing grandma at my daughter’s house. I hopped on my computer, where I was soon greeted by a text from our remaining “original” hockey player. He had requested a trade. He had done this earlier in the week, but the coach had talked him off the ledge. The coach’s recommendation was to wait two weeks and see how he felt. Apparently, two weeks had become an unnecessarily long period of time.
The request to help move the playhouse sitting on our front porch, acquired on a big-item trash day, to our daughter’s house for Ellie was denied. It sounds like he’ll be packing up and leaving immediately after they return from Minnesota tomorrow morning. So much for the playhouse.
I passed the unfortunate information on to my wife and the billet coordinator. Judy said, “Too bad!” The billet coordinator let me know there were a few people ahead of us on the “empty bed” list. I teased the coordinator, “Is our house cursed?” It isn’t, but it feels that way sometimes. Of our first three boys, two were brothers who wanted to stay together. Then we got the veteran who didn’t get as much playing time as he wanted last year and is now waiting on a trade. Our willingness to be flexible about which boys we received is probably part of the reason we’re down to one boy right now. Yes, I’m a little jealous of the houses with multiple boys who are getting plenty of playing time. On the positive side, we do have one boy the coach seems to like. He just can’t eat pork.
At some point, you have to laugh. The morning had started with a little rain, some leftover French toast and a walk where my biggest concern was whether I could pass a family before they reached the next turn. A couple of hours later, our billet situation had changed again. That’s life lately. I keep thinking I’m getting a glimpse of what the next few days will look like, and then something shows up and rearranges the furniture.
Today’s lesson is really just a reminder. If you think you can accurately anticipate what is going to happen over the next week, or even the next couple of days, you probably aren’t putting yourself in a place where you can fully live your life. I wish I had something more profound than that.
I ride the rapids every day I wake up. Some days, it’s a gentle ride. Other days, I wonder what else might come around the next bend. The older I get, the more I realize there isn’t much value in trying to anticipate every twist. You do what you can to be prepared. You make your plans. You show up. You enjoy the walk while you have it.
The rest is way above my pay grade.
And maybe that’s okay. I don’t know what the next few days will bring. I don’t know who will be sleeping in the extra bed, what plans will change, or what unexpected text will show up on my phone. But I do know I’ll wake up tomorrow and get another day.
At this point in my life, I’m learning to appreciate that part more than I used to. I just hope my retired brain does a better job navigating the rapids than the brain I had 30 years ago would have done. Of course, the brain change isn’t optional anyway.
