by Phyllis McCrossin
It’s going to be another quiet week.
The boys are with their father and King is laid up with a mild case of shingles.
I had my two-dose singles vaccine before we left Michigan this past fall. While King is not opposed to vaccines, a two-dose regimen does cut in to golf time, so he opted to wait. Now he is told he will have to wait a year to get a shingles vaccine and in the meantime is suffering through the pain. Shingles do hurt.
I checked with my doctor in Michigan, and I am pretty safe as long as I take precautions while applying calamine lotion to his back. The boys are safe as well because they have received chicken pox vaccines. Thank goodness their parents are not anti-vaxers. (Two of our daughters-in-law are).
My doctor did tell me King does not need to quarantine from me – unless I feel it’s necessary for my own sanity. I really like her. I’m sure she is well aware of how grumpy stoic men can be.
In the meantime, life goes on.
This past week we had the opportunity to visit our favorite California mechanic when the brakes and a wheel bearing went out on the truck. King and I were quite surprised as it went with no warning. No squealing brakes, no rattling wheel bearing until suddenly it was bad. We both suspect it had been going on a long time and we simply did not HEAR it. In a word, aging sucks.
We have two favorite mechanics, one in Lakeside, California and the other in Bangor, Mich. Both are straightforward and affordable. In fact, since the guy in Lakeside got us in immediately, and worked on the truck around his already busy schedule, King tried to pay him more. He refused.
Of course even with cheap repairs we are now left with the option of eating macaroni and cheese until our next check or yelling “CHARGE IT” when we go grocery shopping. It’s always been how we roll and I’m sure it’s one of the reasons the decision to live this rather bohemian lifestyle wasn’t difficult. Not everyone is comfortable living this way.
I guess I get it. But not fully; it’s probably the same as those can’t understand how we are comfortable living with a meager savings and no real plans for when we are no longer able to do this. We will figure it out when it comes time to do it.
Irresponsible isn’t it? But, we are content with what we are doing.
Suffice it to say that contentment comes in many forms.
This morning, for example, King and I worked together to unclog the black tank (never a pleasant task) and then King watched old TV westerns and napped (he really doesn’t feel that great). But now he’s outside puttering. Our campsite is in the high desert. It’s all dirt. King spends a good hour every day raking the site. Picture carpeting being vacuumed with all the nap going one way – that’s what our campsite looks like.
I’m not all that into TV Westerns, so while Barbara Stanwyck was making a guest appearance on Rawhide, I hauled out our printer and my laptop and printed out a bunch of patterns for wood burning projects. I’m on a wood burning coaster kick. I think my kids will all be getting a set of coasters for Christmas next December — if I can find the finished project in 11 months.
It’s difficult to lose things in 182 square feet but I somehow manage. My point is, it’s not exciting. It’s not adventuresome. It’s just doing the things we enjoy and being content with what we are doing.
It’s an enjoyable way to live.
May your troubles be less and your blessings be more and may nothing but happiness come through your door. – An Irish blessing