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blog Journal meta Writing

Independent Balance

I quit my job about two years ago and now make a decent living coaching chess, teaching photography, and guiding kids to practice imagination and socialization through playing Dungeons & Dragons. I am literally a professional Dungeon Master. As awesome as it is to be able to say that, there’s an inherent difficulty in finding […]

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blog Eldercare Journal

Don’t Let Me Walk Alone

When the sundown comes, don’t let me walk alone. Memories begin to fade, flaking away like ash blowing before the flame. Sparks of fear rise, burning against the night sky. Fragments, they are. Flickering, untethered, soon to burn out and fall to the earth in a cold gray rain. Don’t let me walk alone, she […]

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blog Fitness Journal Sunday Reflections

Getting Back into Fitness

I currently pay for both Apple Fitness+ and Supernatural, in addition to having a driveway which is perfect for fitness, as it is exactly 1/10th of a mile long and slopes uphill at both ends. Literally the only thing keeping me from getting into better shape is the general madness of life here at the […]

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blog Eldercare Family Journal Photography

Sunflowers

This morning we drove over to a local flower farm, where Alli and Barb picked sunflowers and chatted a bit with the farmer. It was a nice break from the daily grind of medications and catheters. We walked among the flowers for a good while. I chased butterflies, attempting to get a good photo of […]

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blog Journal meta Writing

Finishing Things

I have wanted to tell stories since I was a little kid. I might even still have a comic book I wrote and (terribly) illustrated about a literal rock star astronaut. My sister and I did a few strips of a heavily Calvin and Hobbes inspired comic called Space Chief. I remember running around in […]

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blog Eldercare Family Journal

Overnight

The video is grainy and has a low frame rate, resulting in jerky, poorly tracked motions, but the action is easy to follow as GG slithers down to the foot of her bed, slides out past the roll bars, and shuffles towards the bathroom door. We would be proud of her for moving so quickly […]

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blog Journal

Level 37

I turned 37 today and I’ve mostly managed to not panic. Mostly. I took today off from my chess coaching work to relax a bit and allow myself time to do something I haven’t done regularly for almost three years: Write. It felt great. I lay in bed for about an hour longer than I […]

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Journal

Lawnmower

Walker almost fixed a lawnmower today. When the lawnmower threw a belt about half an hour before I had to log on to work, Walker took it on himself up disassemble the deck, battery casing, and powertrain. He did a really good job at it and only needed Alli’s help for figuring out which wheels […]

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Journal

Avoiding Calls

I did it again: Started a thing, felt like it was going really well, then lost focus and didn’t keep up for a second week. Let’s get back on track today. I need to make some calls on Monday. First and most important I need to schedule my next COVID booster. As part of the […]

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Journal

March 25

Four hours, and then some. That’s how long it took for Walker to do his math, with me sitting beside him the whole time. It’s been a challenge getting Walker back on track after Papap’s heart attack. The stress of that event and the subsequent weeks of rapid decline coincided with a growth spurt which […]