We're hitting the point of the early sunrise and the late sunset. I get such satisfaction out of getting up early in these circumstances. I got up, but Jen lingered a bit, and Lauren was happy to go along with my idea of making a run to Madronia to visit her mom. It's Memorial Day. Visiting Madronia was something Linda did annually, at least as annually as could be. Her father and grandfather and hundreds of other veterans throughout the cemetery routinely get American flags set at their graves. I've tried to honor and remember the significance of the losses of lives defending our country. Yet, as I've done so, I've also grown more cynical about the powers that be, the 'freedoms' defended, and the hard truths behind the acts of war and motivations behind them being predominantly self-serving. A lot has changed in politics and government. It was a cool but beautiful morning to visit her and other graves, including Mr. C's. When we talked about her mom not being here and the things Lauren felt this past year had taught her, I was proud. She's really strong, and I trust that her future will include her having some positions of influence in her career and circle of peers. Tommy was around and about at Matson and Panorama but continued not to acknowledge me. The conversation about him not being allowed to live with us after the summer didn't change things; perhaps it gave him more reason to resent me. In that prior conversation, I already said we would talk after graduation, so, between that and his upcoming Florida trip, we will have to come to an understanding. That's not something he seems interested in. For now, I have my hands full with other things. After visiting Madronia, we snagged Philz, returned to Matson, and Jen made bacon for us. Lauren worked while Jen and I went back to Panorama again. I made further progress in the garage, continuing to reduce more clutter, get more put away, cleared the remaining weight bench and squat rack, which I then posted on Craigslist, and more. I also brought several of my heirlooms from Matson to start filling in the bookcase. It'll be an evolving effort, and there's lots more to go through, including adding in Jen's things, but it's rewarding to start setting it out. It's rewarding to find and use something that would otherwise be in boxes for a couple more decades. I assembled my great-grandmother's sewing kit, which has literally been in the rafters or packed away for so long that I forgot it existed. Now it's in the house, in the living room, still with all of the original contents plus a couple of temporary additions—Playboy's from the year/month of my birth and another from 1978. Jen and I ran a bunch of donations to Savers and found 7 or 8 vinyl records for $1 each that are just fun additions to our mini collection, including a few rally campy Christmas ones for December. I guess the record player will remain functional, and I'll need to put some time into refurbishing it. Fine by me. It's not going to happen any time soon. I'll be back there most of tomorrow morning doing work calls before a dentist appointment right up the street. We watched the 1st part of the HBO documentary on George Carlin, and it was excellent. It reminded me of the Gary Shandling bio, also by Judd Apatow. I am looking forward to hopefully concluding it tomorrow. This is the kid's last week at Leigh, and they graduate Thursday. Mary will be staying at Panorama Tues-Fri. I was hoping we'd set up some reunions, but that seems unlikely given schedules. That's all good. I'm just glad I'll have a chance to reconnect.
📊 seven-day averages: ⚖️ 161.1 lbs,❤️ 60.3 bpm, 👣 5644 steps, 🧘🏼9 min