Yesterday RB, #1 son texts, telling me he is at the ER with acute abdominal pain in the region of his gall bladder. He is 43, prime gall stone age. They kept him for more tests. So I’m going down in a bit to check on him.

He just left his job to explore another career. The stress of travel among other factors, prompted the change.

I had thought about visiting after Mass, but my current state of pain dictates I stay home. Right now the left hip is the most painful site in my old, body. But I’ve learned if I feel good emotionally, a little pain, sometimes even a lot is tolerable. I’m 68, for crying out loud.

Right now, the people at Willow are showing West Indies vs. India, rather than the Ashes. Oh well. If I could remember my password, I could watch on my computer.

This India/WI Test puts an excellent Indian 11 on display. I will give it a look. At least it isn’t raining. Not now, anyway.

These West Indian crickters look like American football players, tall anf muscular. A good athlete is a good athlete. I’m sure some of these chaps could play in the National Football League, given the chance.

J has had jobs in her life that require maximum “adulting”. Let me mention a few: case worker for social services, certified public accountant, financial manager for a church and the affiliated parochial school, and merchandising representative for a grocery marketing company.

She’s had lots of jobs with lots of responsibility. She ran her accounting practice from the house toward the end and she left messes of work sheets and client records all thrown on the floor. It was as if she couldn’t bear to deal with them for another second. The debris reflected her unhappiness. Now she works a job that physically exhausts her, but she can leave at the store at the end of her shift.

So nurturing from me is priority. She has spent years suppressing her need to play and be nurtured.

This quaint video tells the story of cricket and the love for this marvelous game.

I did have the first of what I hope will be many conversations with J about the state of the house. She acted really hurt when I expressed my frustration around cleaning up over a decade of clutter and mess. The Brat/Little Model is something she doesn’t see nor will I bring up any time soon. She had a deep cry and I felt bad about being a hard ass. But I have expressed my self for a long time. This will take some practice.

Jade asked a good question about love languages. I fully get that her working is an expression of love, her love language, if you will. Doing the housework at more intensive level makes me aware of my physical limits, so working a “real job” isn’t going to happen soon.

Progress though. Real love felt.

J watching The Good Wife. This is BS. All I can do is wonder why. But at least I am upstairs.

I have been awake about two hours, forty five minutes. Finally the sleepiness is returning. I’m coming to understand that I need to write now more than I need to read. I need to purge more than I need to acquire. One of the hard lessons to learn in this culture is that nearly all of us have enough Stuff. That’s why t ou see so many thrift shops. I’ll bet there aren’t a lot of thrift shops in Burkina Faso, Guatemala, or Bangladesh. And so it is back to bed, to be beside my wife.