Christmas 2022

9:33pm, pacific standard time, apartment in Aliso Viejo, California, USA, Sunday night, December 25, 2022. My daughter and I walked to the park this afternoon and kicked the soccer ball around. It was nice to get out, just the two of us. and do something athletic. Especially after a long day of eating too much food. All in all, it was a good holiday; we woke up early, ate breakfast and opened presents. After we all took afternoon naps and played soccer, we drove around listening to music. At six we ate dinner then went to a movie together. Now we are back home and in for the night. Time to put another Christmas to bed and get ready for the upcoming week.

After time, it will feel like home

4:58pm, pacific standard time, apartment in Aliso Viejo, California, USA, Sunday evening, November 27, 2022. Took a walk with the doggo down to the local community park this morning. There wasn’t much to it except for an open field and a large dog run. The dog run is a great find, if ever there is a need to burn off excess energy. We continued on in the opposite direction to explore the neighborhood more. Further up the road was another park, accessed only by a steep pathway. The climb was exhausting. However, the path looped back to the complex next door, which was fortuitous; it saved us from having to backtrack down the hill and climb the first road back to the apartment. The area is not as beautiful as Dana Point but, I am sure after time, it will feel like home.

Quick nap

4:04pm, pacific standard time, apartment in Dana Point, California, USA, Friday afternoon, September, 23, 2022. Going to the amusement park for an early Halloween celebration this evening. We won’t be home until late. I flew in from the Bay Area this afternoon after working at the hotel this morning. I am going to take a quick nap before we head out at 5:30pm.

Someplace else

1:55pm, in my office, Phoenix, Arizona, Wednesday afternoon, December 15, 2021. It is natural, when things slow down, to think about being someplace else. After all, life is more enjoyable in reflection, when current circumstances cease to demand attention. This afternoon I left my office, drove to a nearby park and sat in my car. As the bright sun warmed me, my mind wandered to last year. I recalled being in Dana Point, sitting on my couch, experiencing a similar moment. It was not a perfect time. The ongoing pandemic resurged and large group restrictions were in place. My wife and daughter had moved out and my mother, recuperating from a nasty fall, had moved in. I was settling into a new job that, unbeknown to me, was going to end in three weeks. It was not a time l felt particularly content, yet sitting in my car, remembering it, all I felt was peace. Now I am looking at decisions I will make for the coming year; Will I stay in Arizona? Or maybe move back to Orange County? Perhaps even end up somewhere I have yet to discover? Many times in life I find myself missing what was left in the past and that makes me realize something; come next year, when I have a moment to reflect, I very well could be enjoying the sunshine of a similar afternoon, in a new someplace else, missing the very place I am now.