Very Nice Weather Makes For....

.....feeling good. We've been riding a high pressure system for the last few days and the skies have been mostly clear with baking sun and low humidity. This is living! It's what I wait all winter for. They're calling for things to change soon; there's another system bearing down on us from the west, straight out of the Rockies and across the great plains bringing higher temps, sweltering humidity and the likelihood of major storms.

These last few days have been active ones. There are times when I'm able to drive myself to accomplish the things I need to. Other times I feel overwhelmed by details, get bogged down in confusion and frustration, dither and get nothing done by the hour. Can't even account for how the time passes.

My moods have been swinging pretty wildly - generally I feel good and positive but, for instance this afternoon, I sailed into a huge downward spiral. Lynda was working away in one area of the building, me in another; me, my thoughts and I went on a mental toot. It feels just like previous periods of mourning I've been though only this time it's for a relationship not someone's demise. Thankfully, when she realized what was going on she was good enough to help talk it out and when the work was over we distracted ourselves for a couple of hours. We didn't get done all the things we'd wanted to before I came in to work but hey - doesn't hurt to be flexible.

Saturday we spent with L'il O and his parents out in the suburban wasteland west of Toronto. It's a straight run across the busiest stretch of highway in North America; about an hours drive in good traffic. Owen is a blast; he's so busy flitting around from home to his friend's places and visiting with adult neighbours that you really have to keep an eye on him. He stops by for hugs, a bite to eat or a drink of juice and then he's off again. I was pleased that he was really taken by a small gift I'd picked up for him. It's an electronic saxophone and each key you push cuts to another loop; another sax riff. He'd push one, one of his legs would start to vibrate 'Elvis' style and then he'd break into a quick but very wild dance. Lots of laughs.

One thing that kills me is the ways in which he is taking to language, his ways of understanding and relating to his world. One of his neighbours has a pet dog, Benji and because Owen knew this dog first he simply calls him Benji. He also has a friend whose name is Benji but because he met him afterward, when he speaks of him, he refers to him as 'Benji the Boy'. Never just Benji as that would mean he was speaking of the dog. He slays me. There might just be a few pictures to come from that outing.

This week when I get up for the day I'll be trying to get the last of the packing done, except for the 'everyday use' things. Lynda and I will also have to sort out the kitchen together. I wasn't going to arrange for a truck as friends have offered the use of their pick-ups and vans but so much as possible I'd like to pack up and go in one trip. Must do that later today. Once the move is done my job hunt will get cranked back into high gear again. I've continued to check ads and internet sites periodically but I need to edit my resume again to fully update it in case I see something to apply for. Money will do the talking; I'll be walking.

I received a quote on Friday as to what to expect to pay for the closing costs on the townhouse; it damned near put me to the floor. Many of the lawyers costs must be fixed and don't relate to the price paid for a property - high or low. As I'm paying a low price I'd figured the closing costs would be proportional - wrong! Hurt me!!

Last week I hit a couple of meetings: Thursday night I went to a closed discussion group that was started recently by a couple of guys I know. One of them preceded me into the 'rooms' by a few months and has been continuously sober since; (not me, I lost track of my sobriety dates for awhile until I came here for treatment) the other guy went through this house about a year ago and has done well by committing himself to his recovery. The meeting is a 'Big Book' study group and I enjoyed the format and discussion - it happened to be a particularly important chapter called 'Into Action' that details the heart of this program. Friday I checked in with friend Terry and we decided to come up here for the in-house meeting that evening. The meeting itself was good and we hung around for about an hour talking with clients and friends.

I haven't taken time at the computer lately except for very quick checks on friend's blogs so I'll have to do some reading up on what's new out there in the blogosphere - see how everyone is doing. Later.