I'm grateful not only for friends and family, but just to be ALIVE. In 2004, God took our Arizona home. A few months later He took our Oregon land. In 2008, He took Tom's job. In 2011, He took our benefits and nearly killed us. In 2012, we pulled our foot out of the grave and fought back. In 2013, we went home. In 2014, we're going to Hawaii and He ain't gonna get this place, too!

Not even after the close call Tom had at work. They laid off about 20 people, some having worked there a lot longer than he has. I suppose a future layoff is inevitable. Just like those running their own businesses risk losing business, those working for others risk layoffs. This is why we’re determined to keep the savings up. It wouldn’t take just a few weeks to get a new job. Nor would he be any younger or less white. All jobs will eventually fire or lay you off whether you deserve it or not. I still fear we’ll eventually return to struggling. God has the power (and the proven hatred for us in the past) to see to it that just the right events occur to make that happen no matter what we do. If it took a long time to get another job, bye-bye savings and bye-bye to any hope of building it back up if it pays shitty.

On the bright side, there are only so many more years we could struggle. Even if he got shit pay from now till age 66, we could still retire comfortably enough then. So God’s only got about a decade to play money games with us, then He’ll have to pick on our health or something, and by that time we’ll be getting older, thus more likely to develop problems anyway. Guess that’s just life for you; if it isn’t one thing it’s another.

Someone had an interesting theory they brought to my attention the other day. What if there is no God or devil, they said. And what if the good and the bad that happen to us are influenced by the spirits of the dead?

Interesting theory. If this is the case, then I had more dead enemies than dead friends for a while there.

It was 64° when I went for my run just as the sun dipped below the horizon so I wouldn’t be blinded by it. It was about twenty after four. Lots of traffic about, and judging by the number of cars parked out there (there are 3 across the street in front) I’d say Christmas could be more active than one might think for a retirement community. Some houses have up to 5 cars, and one of the dead ends had cars parked all along the sides. At one point a couple of girls in their 20s came out for a smoke, and there were more people out and about than one may assume.

Minus the multi-hour basketball games, barking and loud music, there could be a lot of traffic and people hanging outside like visiting kids. I thought I heard a few kids when I was waking up. Probably those two girls that visit the house around the corner.

Another week and things will be back to normal, even if it means they’ll resume open house across the street and I’ll have to deal with the traffic that brings. Really hope whoever buys the place rarely comes and goes like the people across the street in front, cuz the car doors would be annoying. More so than next door even though they’re 20’ away and not 50’. Next door has a garage in which they do most of their door slamming, but across the street has just a carport. So until our own garage is up, it could get obnoxious if it’s often enough. I’m sure God will see to it that like most people, they come and go at least a few times a day.

Anyway, the person who suggested my lower backache could be from shortened hamstrings due to running and who suggested I bend forward and hold the stretch seems to have helped. Thanks! I’ve been much better the last few days. Still losing some hip flexibility, though, but our tendons and ligaments shorten with age so that’s probably why.

Tom injured his own hip the other night in bed. He rolled over and heard something pop and has had hip pain ever since if he bends over very far.