Silence
The decade syndrome. Â Jim used to joke that he did everything by decades: 10.5 years on staff in Downey. 10 years in Scottsdale. 10 in Illinois at Trinity. Â Then when we moved back to CA and he got sick and died after 4.5 years so I thought that the syndrome only applied to him! Â Yet now at 10.5 years I am moving back to Downey. Â There is probably no significance but it is an interesting phenomenon.
The move to Downey has been a very long move. Longer than I had planned. Â I made the decision and told my landlord back in the fall. Â I started packing and purging instead of celebrating the holidays. Then after Israel, I began in earnest to be ready to move in Feb. Â And then it didn’t happen. Â All my stuff packed up and the new place not ready. Â I waited. I tried to be patient since I really had enough to do with teaching for Trinity. I had to get out by the end of February but still the next place was not ready. Â There were setbacks. Â So, I moved my stuff and then lived without it for almost another month, finally sleeping there on March 21.
Slowly, life is uprighting itself from sideways. I found my tea and my shampoo.  I got the internet hooked up.  I purged some more. There is still a lot to do, and I am anxious to get everything back to “normal”,  but it feels like I am on that road finally. It takes longer to get to work and I am still trying to find a “secret” route that will be less trafficked.  The cat is happy again.  I feel like I can come up for air without being so overwhelmed. The TIU class is graded.  The taxes are paid. I am no longer sick.  We finally have a pastoral candidate!
Sometimes life is very self absorbed and intra-focused. Â I am now just coming out of the fog and can look around a little bit. I can think about something else. Â There is still plenty of visual noise but as that quiets down my writer’s block will be less silent!