December 2019: Coming up on Christmas

Recent days have been milder than November, with less snow and warmer temperatures. While I joined a fitness club on Cyber Monday for $129, I've only been there once and plan to use it only when it is impossible to walk outside. Yesterday was a good example. While snow and ice melted from our big December 1 snow, I enjoyed a great 4-mile walk.

Appleton remains an ongoing adjustment process. I have yet to find a rhythm besides a quasi-addiction to walking, based more on guilt than a goal. I miss the energy -- but not the insanity -- of college life. I still tend to obsess over cash flows, accounts, and long-term viability of our retirement spending plans.

Recently accelerated our Christmas plans. After five attempts, we found a great tree at Home Depot. We could not convert to an artificial tree, even as I heard from some vendors wanting $125 for a tree. Dena decorating with style. I make tens of thousands of donations to church, charity and other worthy causes, all in the Christmas, year-end tax spirit.

Jane and Gaby continue to mature, moving towards independence and careers, as they are both confirmed adults now. That last statement is hard for me to comprehend at times, and I sentimentalize over the days of travel soccer, CYO basketball, NDP athletics, multiple trips in a day to Notre Dame prep, and Christmas tree and pumpkin hunting events in the fall.

A lot of little health issues, from teeth to shoulder to hips, needing to be resolved in the new years.