May 13,2026, Wednesday morning,6:48am, pacific standard time,apartment complex parking lot, Aliso Viejo, California,USA. I am in Aliso to pick up my daughter’s friend and take her home to Laguna Niguel. I had an epiphany while getting ready today. the viewpoint of mom coming out is not her living with me or having a long term ‘visit’ per se. rather, she is moving out here and can set up her life how she sees fit. We can move furniture, buy furniture, get rid of furniture. She doesn’t need to say good bye to me every morning or wait for me every night. She can build her own life and I can have mine. We just need to be to close for safety and life management purposes. Realizing that has reduced my stress considerably.

May 12,2026, Tuesday morning, 10:18am, pacific standard time, office in Costa Mesa, California,USA. I am much more focused now than I have been ever in my life. I am cognizant of being positive and staying present in the current moment. I woke up and didn’t blue lantern route this morning then went back to bed. We are going to Chapman care center to celebrate nurses week with their staff.

May 11,2026,Monday morning, 7:26am, pacific standard time, office in Costa Mesa, California, USA. Yesterday for Mother’s Day we went to Eureka! For lunch then saw the movie The Sheep Detectives. Both were actually pretty good. I was able to take the dog for a walk, drive around with my daughter and get to bed early. This is one of the rare times, really since I left being the chaplain, that work and how long I stay at a job are not the main concern. My focus in the near future is figuring out living conditions for my mom here in California.

May 10,2026,Sunday morning,8:48am, pacific standard time,apartment in Dana Point, California, USA. Walked to Los Rios this morning along the bike path then came home to do laundry and get ready. We are going to lunch and a movie to celebrate Mother’s Day. I am focusing on positivity and thankfulness today.

May 9,2026, Saturday night, 7:19pm, pacific standard time,apartment complex parking lot, Dana point, California,USA. I have wanted to get new glasses for years. The pair I have sits too low on the bridge of my nose. That puts my eyes off center and creates an unappealing look. I got my prescription in March but hadn’t made the effort to buy glasses because of cost. I estimated they would be between four to six hundred dollars. This afternoon, while getting coffee at Peet’s, I walked by Warby Parker. I had been meaning to check out the store but never did. I figured this was my chance. I put my coffee in the car and went in to look around. I found a frame I liked for $95. I decided to buy them. I braced for the painful up charges; the lenses themselves, blue light protector, UV protector, scratch resistance, transitions, etc. granted I turned down all of those (accept the scratch resistance, that came with the lenses) total cost out the door: $95. They didn’t even charge me tax. I am going to go back and get prescription sunglasses next. I am still gobsmacked how cost efficient they are and how much I was frigging paying in the past. I feel like I found an extra couple hundred dollars. It is a rare feeling to get a good deal, especially in California.

May 8,2026, Friday afternoon, 1:39pm, pacific standard time, office in Costa Mesa, California, USA. Busy week at work. Good to have more patients and census but it feels chaotic with missed details. I am checking out mentally. This day needs to be over. This week has felt painfully long.

May 6-7, 2026, Wednesday-Thursday, 2:56am, pacific standard time., apartment in Dana Point, California, USA. I am choosing to be happy and positive. I look forward to moving my mom to California and getting our new life set up. Every situation offers a positive perspective. I choose to embrace that perspective and celebrate the victories.

May 5,2026,Tuesday afternoon,3:13pm, pacific standard time, office in Costa Mesa, California,USA. I am still battling congestion for the fourth day in a row. The storm moved out so hopefully that clears things up. I have been fog brained. This morning I went to EOS in San Clemente to walk on the treadmill and do a chest/tricep workout. This day is dragging. I am ready to get out of here.

May 4,2026,Monday afternoon, 4:08pm, pacific standard time, lobby of office, Costa Mesa, California,USA. I went to bed at 5pm yesterday and woke up at 6am. I didn’t walk, workout or read this morning. All night I had an awful headache in the back of my skull on the left hand side making me nauseous. I drank a lot of coffee, rubbed peppermint oil in my nose and on my temples and took ibuprofen with DayQuil. Around 10am my nose started to run and the pressure relieved but I still feel light headed and dazed. I am ready for this day to end.

May 3,2026, Sunday morning, 11am, parking lot, apartment complex,Dana Point, California,USA. Yesterday around 3pm I went and picked up my daughter. She wanted to run errands and drive. We ended up going to Best Buy in Lake Forest, the mall in Mission Viejo and Target in San Clemente. All told she drove 50 miles while avoiding the freeway. It was a lot of good practice on busy streets with unexpected scenarios. We didn’t get back to Aliso Viejo until 7pm. That gave me time to walk the dog before it got dark .