Notes from Steve

My mom and dad would have been married 64 years this last week.  I remember in 1969 or ‘70* when my sister and I were really young - we made our neighbor, Mrs. Peggy Noble (3 houses down), make my folks an anniversary cake.  Michele found the wedding topper thing in the attic, and the cake was pink.  Good on Peggy - she did a good deed.  The courage and audacity of young children to ask random neighbors to make their parents a cake -- well, thank God for this, and how do we get it back?  (Asking for what we need and not waiting for someone to help us out.)  

Kids are aware and live without a filter a lot of the time.  As time progresses, we get nicer and more passive.  I think we are also conditioned by society to be less aware of our own needs and more worried about what others will think.  I just read a piece in the New York Times questioning socks with sandals.  My thought is my feet are cold, and my sandals are comfortable.  Period and done.  I don’t worry about what others think, and I’m fine with this.  It took a while for me to get back to my five-year-old self - I’m embracing it though.  

Lots of nice comments about last week’s post and my retirement announcement (15 months away).  Lots of questions as well.  Honestly, it’s a stab in the dark, but it’s a start, and I’m trying to figure out how I feel about it all, and honestly, it’s just weird.  Hopefully, wherever I end up, a “neighbor Peggy” will make me a cake if I need one.  

*I was 5, Michele was 7, and Amy wasn’t born yet - so she can’t take credit.