Workout or job?

On my walk to pick Travis up from school I passed the neighborhood mailman. Wondering what he might think of the frigid weather, I stopped to ask.

“You work outside a lot, right?”

He nodded.

“Which do you prefer: blazing hot or freezing cold?”

Without hesitation he answered, “blazing hot.”

“Really?”

“Yeah,” he said. “When it’s blazing hot I can carry extra water and it feels like a workout. When it’s freezing cold, well … that’s when it feels like a job!”

Forty-five trips around the sun

Family hike pic at Falls Lake. Note the wrist brace.

Family hike pic at Falls Lake. Note the wrist brace.


Yesterday was my 45th birthday. My how time flies. It was a good birthday, though, overall. The only downside is that I seem to have somehow injured my left hand on Sunday. I wasn’t doing anything excessive – just watching The Hunt for Red October on the couch with Travis, but an hour later my hand was extremely sore, especially at the wrist. This mystery injury provided me teeth-gritting pain over the last two days, only now letting up. Since yesterday, my hand has ballooned from the swelling. I hope it will settle down on its own because my former employer has been slow getting the COBRA coverage started on my health insurance and as of now I don’t think I can see the doctor without a lot of reimbursement paperwork trouble.
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