"But I know a change is gonna come."
I've been thinking about that Otis Redding lyric a lot recently, because I can see some big changes coming to my life in the near future. Actually, most of them are good changes. But change sometimes is scary or at least daunting. Intimidating?
One of the welcome changes comes today. The weather. It's finally going to get above freezing again this week, for the first time since mid-January. That's also how long it's been since we've had measurable snow. The airmass that blew icy winds from the Arctic Circle was mighty cold and mighty dry. Our area doesn't get lake-effect snow, so the prints that cats, crows, meter readers and other prowlers made weeks ago are still there, except in cases where they have been covered up by newer prints by cats, crows, etc.
That--the lack of snow--could be in for a change, too. The wind shifted around to the south late on Sunday, we're getting air from the west, not the north, and I have a feeling our snow drought is going to end soon. It won't happen too soon for snowmobilers. The trails around here are in rough shape. Literally. But if the temperatures get in the 30s and the sun smiles down, the measly four inches of snow we have now won't be long for this world.
Also, my winter sports season just has a few weeks to go. Wrestling season ended over the weekend, and basketball and volleyball are in their final weeks. In another month, the tournaments will be over, and I'll be getting a lot more free time at home. I enjoy the sports, as you know, but it all gets too hectic, and with everything else I'm involved with, it can get become too much.
I've been going at it almost nonstop since late August, and I'd really, really, really like to go somewhere that doesn't involve a meeting, a sports contest, a visit to my mom or other relatives or a funeral.
But my aunt's funeral in early January is the catalyst for the biggest changes. She and her husband never had children, and I heard after the funeral that I'd get some "nickels and dimes" she had accumulated. There are 11 nieces and nephews, and each gets 1/11th of the pie. A nice pie.
The check arrived on Saturday. It's going to bring about some changes.
For example, last week we learned a local furniture store is closing. We had talked on and off in the past about getting a queen-size bed "someday." Someday came last Wednesday. We went to the store, saw something we both liked, and I wrote the check. It arrived Monday morning. Our (very) brave cats timidly stepped upstairs later to see what happened to their favorite daytime hangout (which has been moved to another bedroom).
Later tonight, I'm hoping we can take care of one last bit of unfinished business from V day ... to properly initiate it, you know.
Another big day will be coming in early March. That will be "Liberation Day." It's the day when I line up the credit card bills and methodically write checks to pay off the balances on each one. Once that's done, it will subtract several hundred dollars from the bills I pay each month. Plus no aggravation from high interest rates. Free at last!
Then, in April or May, I will be making the last payment on my car. The balance is only about $550 right now. Once that happens, it's going to save precisely $196.67 each month. My little car, for all its misadventures with deer and lousy drivers, only has 122K on it, and I figure it can keep going for another couple years.
One thing you need to understand is that we've never had much money all the time we've been married. Mine is a low-paying job, and she only worked part-time. So for all the time we've been together, we've scrimped where we could and made do with what we had. Our concept of a vacation involves only a couple nights in motels or else crashing with relatives. Now, maybe we can go on a "real" vacation and stay at a nice motel when out of town. Not worry about a long drive home at night after a long day on the road.
But there will be no spending spree. I've got some things I want to get, and so does she, but our deeply-ingrained habits won't change easily or quickly. When the right time comes--like with the queen-size bed--we will be ready to act.
Then, I think there will be one more change. With my job. My fondest wish is to get rid of the news assignments I took over "temporarily" back in 2002 when another person left. It's a definition of "temporarily" that I've never encountered before.
It provides 75% to 90% of the stress I feel. Make no mistake: The sports is a lot of work and time and evenings away from home, but I'm used to it. The additional work is what's causing my stress--and I want to cut back.
That's a lot of change coming down the road, heading right my way. I think you can see that it's going to be interesting.
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