Sheldon Pharis Patteson books & "Bapehbe" (pine cone honey/jelly)
My change-up of the waking routine worked reasonably well for day 1. The switch to 'sunrise' based alarm timing without the "SAD" light had me waking a bit before dawn as expected, but without the pressure of having to get up within a fixed window of time. I still got up, somewhat naturally, and our usual routines fell into place without much deviation. I felt more rested, which helps, considering I was up again at 2 am and struggling to get back to sleep. Again. A recurring pattern that I wish was not. I took the Patterson books to the Saratoga museum and met with Annette, who will put them into their display with attribution to Linda for the donation. It's amazing how the older I get, the more I appreciate history. I guess we become more aware of a time before ours as we get close to a time beyond ours. I arrived in Saratoga early, so I stopped by the cemetery where Linda has buried up the road. All of the flowers left there remain, wilting and dying. It seemed poetic and poignant. I felt a sense of sadness at it all, not that I've not, just that it felt more immediate in that spot at that moment without distractions. I met Marlin for lunch in Los Altos. While waiting, I got into an interesting conversation with the host, Brian, about a Bison protection agency in Wyoming. And Peruvian coffee too. People are fascinating. It's always interesting when you get a chance to hear somebody's interests. Well, usually but not always. Lunch with Marlin was good, and it was nice to have some face-face time and even talk about wines and Paso and Palm Desert and non-work stuff. I met Randy after for coffee, a C-level doubleheader of sorts. I let him know I was pretty 'raw' as far as being overburdened by the intense life/work demands, and he was very supportive and empathetic. After lunch with Marlin, including a discussion about getting 1:1 time with our spouses, I reached out to Jen to suggest we go to "Divine Cheese and Wine," which she'd found and expressed interest in. It was awesome. We had a wonderful early evening enjoying the most incredible cheeses and meats with a 2018 "Mon Coeur" Cotes De Rhone from Mauves, France. We're having fun tasting imported wines and finding them enjoyable. The cheeses included "Cana de Oveja" (soft, ripe, served with Russian pine cone jelly), Oakdale Gouda (2yr aged hard crumbly gritty, served with homemade hazelnut brittle), Hornbacker (Manchego-ish hard cheese but pungent, served with pickled okra) and a Meredith Dairy Australian goat cheese that was creamy and marinated in oil, served with a spicy pepper jelly). We shared a slice of cheesecake (phenomenal). We tipped heavily, and I posted a review on a few sites to help drive business their way. Tommy called, upset, shared that he is having panic attacks and waking up crying after awful dreams about his mom's suffering. I did all I could do to console him and support him through this. I get it, it's traumatic and traumatizing, and he's just at that age where there's a collision of shared emotions and those being constrained that build up and overflow over time. I spend a lot of time reflecting on my own experiences through that but not enough considering theirs. He's pushed so much down, and she's done the same, just differently. I ended the night in a round of texts with Mary, reflecting on our paths, pasts and parallels in these past few months. We have to find a way to connect in person. Hopefully, she'll come to stay and visit with us on what I've dubbed the "Victor Sprinkles" tour and get into Tears for Fears on 6/2. This was a really good day of connections with friends, my wife, my children, and my colleagues. It feels fulfilling. If I sleep ok, I'll chalk it up to that. :-D