New Year Unemployed

For the first time since I was fifteen years old, I find myself waking up with neither a job or school to worry about. My last employed day was uneventful but I took a small measure of satisfaction at 5PM when I deleted my work email address and removed all the employment related websites. There was a real feeling of detachment from something that has dominated my life for over a half century. It was a very good feeling which only confirmed my decision to finally retire. I am ready for whatever comes next.

Wife and I Last Night

What immediately came next was assisting my Favorite Panamanian with some house cleaning. One of the customs she grew up with was the cleanliness of your home on New Year’s Day is a harbinger for what it will be for the rest of the year. That meant some heavy-duty cleaning to meet my wife’s lofty standards. The only problem was her back was still bothering her which mean I was required to do a lot more than I thought was necessary. The helping her part was completely necessary so let’s just say my spotlessness standards aren’t as high as hers and leave it at that. The biggest challenge was de-decorating the Christmas tree and lugging all the ornaments back to the basement. The tree was also ready to retire and left an inch thick carpet of needles on the floor. My final act was the dismemberment and flattening of the cursed deer figurines who had also met their retirement age. They’ll now all fit in one garbage bag. There was a little bit of satisfaction seeping into my efforts as I remembered all the cold nights I spent setting them back up after they blew down despite an elaborate set of poles and wires to keep them upright. So, satisfying.

Evidence a Former Christmas Tree Passed this Way

Three Flattened Deer

We were spending New Year’s Eve at the Neighborhood Mafiosos and other members of the Panamanian Mafia. Despite being only 100 meters from the party location, my Favorite Panamanian said we had to drive because she didn’t think her back would allow her to walk that far. I explained our tardiness to our hosts being due to the heavy traffic we encountered. It was a small but very fun crowd assembled to welcome in the new year. As is wont to happen when Panamanians gather, dancing soon broke out but for the first time in our married life my Favorite Panamanian did not lead the charge. Her back would not allow it and I could tell this was the unkindest cut of all for the injury because she revels in dancing.

The Dancing Starts

My Wife Agonizing about Not Joining in

With my Dancing Buddies

She did manage a couple really slow dances with me providing back support to insure no untoward movements. The biggest surprise of the night was I ended up spending a lot more time on the dance floor with our hostess and her daughter. It was the most I’ve danced with someone other than my wife since we first met. I’m thinking I was in a party mood because of the whole email account deletion. At any rate, we laughed, danced, and imbibed into the last vestiges of 2021. The year will go out with a tarnished reputation because of the Covid resurgence but I still found the year eminently more worthy of praise than its benighted predecessor, the evil 2020.

The Mafia Greets the New Year

Last night was a perfect example of that as a group of vaccinated friends were able to gather and recapture some of the good vibes of a New Year’s Eve party that were denied us last year. There isn’t a fair way to properly assess the importance of human contact, especially with good friends but last night offered a glimpse into what had been missing for so long. Hanging with excellent people and partying into the early morning hours is truly medicinal for the soul. Of source, it doesn’t do wonders for the head that has to greet the next day but it is a price worth paying because of those excellent people. They made all the difference.

My Date and I

Things Did Get a Little Silly

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RECURRING CHARACTERS                                           

BR3 – Blog Reader #3 – granddaughter #3, BRS - Blog Reader the Sequel - second granddaughter; FBR - First Blog Reader - first granddaughter, ABFA – Amazing Best Family Athlete = my daughter in law; Wingman – my son in law; Wingmom – Wingman’s mom, of course; Keene Friends 1 & 2 – friends since high school from my home town of Keene, NH; Soxfather - my brother in law; Great Aunt - my elder sister; Cantankerous Friend – friend since grade school who likes to argue about everything, poses as radical leftist to attract women; Kindergarten Friend – friend since kindergarten whom I reunited with after many years; Pittsburgh College Roommate– high school friend, also a “Minor Celebrity” in Pittsburgh; Deckzilla – our backyard deck which grew to monstrous dimensions once my wife got involved in planning; Maine and Virginia Musqueteras – two close friends of my wife – her US sisters, my wife is the 3^rd musquetera (musketeer); Riggins - also known as the Grandpuppy, son's dog; PanaGals – female relatives /friends of my wife from Panama; Panamanian/Latin Mafia – inevitable group of Latino friends my wife accumulates wherever we have lived & their spouses; Neighborhood Mafioso - wife's close friend and Panamanian mafia member, Favorite Panamanian - the wife (of course); First Friday – celebrations to mark the First Friday of the Week; Curbside Girls – close friends of my daughter acquired during her single days in Brooklyn