I have noticed that from time to time I make use of clichés in this weekly space. It is a journalistic no-no, but I have tried to use them in a way that, to use yet another, they are the exception that proves the rule. My week out of town compels me to use one more: Sometimes we lose track of what is really important.
Two people near and dear to me are knocking at death’s door—one of them certain to enter shortly. Her immediate family is doing their best to hold onto their jobs, take care of her and come to grips with the incomprehensible shortness of our stay on this planet. The other is a man who could have written the song My Way, and true to form, is letting his hard but enjoyed life slip away on his terms. He has told the doctors to stay away.
My 9-year-old grandson is going through the usual coming of age as he approaches middle school. He is smart like a nerd, clever like a fox and just learning to play hockey. He is sensitive to the slings and arrows of his friends, and wrestles with who he is verses who they tell him he is—or should be. His 6-year-old sister is creatively brilliant, yet clingy, and as yet, ill at ease with the world. She is a lot of work. Their grandmother is looking at an oxygen tank in her future if she can’t get her arms around a chronic lung and asthma problem.
Let Patch save you time. Get great local stories just like this delivered right to your inbox or smartphone everyday with our free newsletter. Fast signup here.The mortgage on my house is still a bit upside down, and the mortgage broker wants more income certainty than Trump himself can provide. Retirement is a fantasy akin to the dream I have in which Heidi Klum leaves Seal to run away with me to the Caribbean.
You will, I think, be pleased to know that none of this is a complaint or a "poor me" screed. I have a love-fueled, fulfilling life. My interests and relationships give me great joy. But life is life. Simply replace the last three paragraphs with your own, and you will no doubt fill the void with your own issues of family, friends and finances.
Issues like will be and the future of the Armory take a backseat, as do the partisan squabbles attendant to them, when life’s priorities become the focus. For those of you, who like me, are drawn to the public issues of the day, you might find it a bit difficult to find the time to think about the more important issues in your life, or even keep them in perspective. If such is the case, I recommend that you spend a little time away.
Trust me; you will lose none of your passion for the public things you care about. I couldn’t wait to get back to work Monday. But you just might find a little more peace and a lot more perspective in the bargain.
