“Hectic” doesn’t quite capture the past three weeks. I have had many blog postings in my head and no time to post. Here’s a quick update.
Gone Fishin’
Two weekends ago, four of us middle-aged guys went fishing for two days on a big lake in southern Indiana. I’m pleased to report the fish were very safe. Mike (on the right) and I had nary a nibble in two days; Jess and his boat mate caught these three whoppers and let us hold them for the obligatory “fish picture” before we released them.
While the catch was light, the time together was awesome. Getting away with guys who enjoy each other, sitting in a small boat with gentle waves in a quiet cove on a remote lake, sitting up at night discussing issues from the Purdue football team to substantive poverty problems in our city, all made for a wonderful time.
Saying Goodbye
Last weekend, I attended a funeral for a family matriarch. My father’s oldest sibling passed away quietly at the age of 94. The funeral was a celebration of a life well lived. Mary Alice was the family historian and a source of stability to several generations. While her body eventually gave out, her mind was sharp to the end. My cousin John reported a lively debate she sparked with him only a month ago over the pros and cons of stem-cell research. Yeah, she was sharp. We’ll all miss her.
Many of my cousins gathered and we had a wonderful time remembering Mary Alice and catching up with each other. My sister Marge is in front, the rest are cousins. Neat guys, we have much to be thankful for.
Getting Things Done
If any of you have read David Allen’s book Getting Things Done, you know it is a terrific method of handling all the “stuff” that comes our way, keeping it organized and then getting the right things done. The staff there recently heard of my implementation of GTD and asked me to write about it. They published it on their blog here. If you like personal productivity issues, you might enjoy it. If you just want to see my handwriting, well, you can see that too.
Let’s go racin’ boys
Half Marathon #3 in my spring series of 5 happens on Saturday. The OneAmerica 500 Festival Mini-Marathon is Saturday morning. Along with 35,000 of my closest friends, we’ll wind through Indianapolis, do a lap at the Speedway and run back downtown. Fishing buddy Jess and I are running again, this time also accompanied by Jess’ son Josh doing his first half marathon. Josh will finish the last Mechanical Engineering final of his sophomore year at Purdue around 10pm on Friday night, so he’ll be ready to run. The weather looks to be muggy, with a chance of showers and temps in the low to mid 60s. I’m thinking I’ll punch a 2:05 target into the Garmin, enjoy the sights and the crowds, try for a negative split and just enjoy myself. No PRs this week. And that's OK.
Persevere…no matter how hectic life gets!
5 comments:
Thanks for the update, Joe! And thanks as well for helping get Mom to Mary Alice's funeral. She really didn't think she could go at the last minute, but she said you helped her find a flight and got her out there. We were well represented by you, Mom and Brian.
Oh, and good luck to you on Saturday!! My 8K is Sunday, I'll give you a report afterwards.
Fishing, huh. Glad you enjoyed it. That's one topic I won't be covering over at fivedown. 8-)
Sorry to hear about your aunt. Hopefully somebody has a hold of all that history.
Good luck this weekend at the Mini.
Hopefully, you drank a few beers while fishing. That's what early morning fishing is for :-) The fish are just a bonus!!
Joe,
Glad to hear everything is OK- you have been quiet.
Great fishing trip. My dad did that on Erie for many years and had many stories.
Enjoy the Mini- too bad it did not work out to meet you there but we'll catch up.
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