Posted by
William D. Dannenmaier on Saturday, September 24, 2011 9:52:28 AM
One morning last week I was bemoaning my lack of energy and criticizing my lack of accomplishment the day before. I told Sheila that I was down on myself. She perked up immediately and told me not to horn in on her job. According to Sheila, it is a wife's duty to criticize a husband, that in criticizing myself I was infringing on her priviledge and pleasure.
On the very good side, my grandson August is out of combat and in the pipeline that will bring him home. When we last heard he was in Anchorage. Please accept the fact that he may be hard to live with eventually, at least when I returned people told me I was, but combat does that to you. It is not just the actual fighting, but also the fact that as long as you are on the front you must be careful, else you could be dead. This creates a watchfulness, a tension, which lasts twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. When you are actually “up front” you get accustomed to this, you live with it and don’t notice it, but it accompanies you when you return home and others notice it. You aren’t trying to be unpleasant, you just are. It takes time to un-wind, the family will need to give our Auggie time to un-wind.
I was at the Veterans’ Hospital in Nashville Thursday. I talked Sheila into driving in (foggy morning rush traffic) on the promise that I would drive the return trip. Unfortunately a two and a half hour hearing examination left me tired, so she had to drive back (sun and glare afternoon traffic). I had been there the week previously also and now have a trip planned to Dr. Smith next week. I always enjoy visiting with Gary, for one thing he listens and I have a couple of small problems I wish to present to him. Despite the pleasure of meeting with Gary, I am getting really tired of going to a doctor every week.
Sheila attended a small art group earlier this week. I was pleased to see her attend. I’d be even more pleased to see her start painting again. She has made a start on this by organizing our family room as an art room, but I haven’t seen her pick up a brush yet. Her work on the history of Cumberland Furnace has been interrupted by a computer crash. Between Stephen’s advice and Andrew’s work the computer is working again, but she lost a lot of the work she had done. That has to be discouraging.
Not much news on the children. Chris telephones once a week and continues his consulting, Eric is still teaching law, Bill has been traveling a lot recently (Norway among others) consulting, Laura has changed jobs and instead of riding around in a police car as a social worker to intervene in crises, is counseling at the University of Texas, Renie continues editing and writing for a daily law journal, Stephen is still doing landscaping in Springfield, Andrew continues to take classes at Austin Peay while awaiting summons from the Air Force and Megaera continues working on her degree at Austin Peay. In other words, all are law abiding and supporting themselves, which is more than many can say in our currently depressed and moral-less society.
Beyond the above, it is a beautiful day today: brilliant sunshine and cool. Were I not so tired and spending so much time sleeping I’d be spending the day outdoors. That touch of autumn is in the air. The days are shorter and cooler, with daytime highs in the seventies and low eighties and nighttime lows providing comfortable sleeping provided you have sufficient blankets and a warm wife next to you.