An Epic Weekend, Spring Equinox, Welcome Maleah Rae Thompson

"Who controls the past controls the future. Who controls the present controls the past."
— George Orwell (1984)

Good morning, happy Monday; I hope you had a great weekend; ours was Epic. Yesterday we hosted about 20 people from our neighborhood; many had yet to see our home; it was a great time, a lot of food and drink was consumed, we had about twenty join us from 11:00 to 2:00. After our company left, Cousin helped clean up, and we began playing Euchre. After that, we watched basketball; Purdue won; I've got them in the final game. I got a great night of sleep, and I'm ready for a good week.

I slept in a little; it was almost 7:00; I woke up early but decided to snuggle with my wife. We had a pup and two cats on each side of us, plenty of room in the middle. Bay and our daughter leave today; cousin is staying until Thursday. After that, we are heading to the hot springs with a large group for the weekend.

As we were hosting our people, my son texted me and shared the birth of Maleah Rae Thompson. Six pounds, 12 ounces, and 20.5 inches long. Both she and Mom are doing great; I hope to get a picture to share later today. I woke up thinking about our kids, all married, successful, and happy. My friend Matt likes to say you are never happier than your unhappiest kid and for now, all our kids are in great places.

Our search for our winter rental took a turn yesterday. I got an email from a friend about a new community in the jungle by Tulum, MX. It looks incredible, is within our budget, and is within walking distance to the city. I like to dream a little now and then, we have never been to Tulum, but we hear it's a great spot. The idea would be to buy it, use it occasionally but have it Air B and B'd when we are not there. A friend has a beautiful home close and has a property manager.

Checking in on the news, the Russian/Ukraine war is still raging. Ukraine has rejected a surrender deal, and many Russian soldiers claim the battle is not winnable. Another story claims that Putin has cancer, causing his erratic behavior. I don't trust anything; I don't know what to believe; I live a micro life trying to control what I can control and not give too much attention to the things I can't.

There is another snow day here; after a weekend of blue skies and sun, the snow clouds are back with a vengeance. I'm not sure how much we will get, but we will ride it out. It's about 30 degrees, and light snow has started to fall; it's a winter wonderland out there; yesterday was the spring equinox, 12 hours of sun, 12 hours of darkness.

My wife just got up, as did our pup; it's potty, breakfast, then a nap for Parker Van Halen. We will soon shower and get to our respective "offices." The rest of the crew will work around us; the girls are leaving at 11:00. I'll miss them; we've had a great week of family time, cooking, playing cards, working together; I'm sad.

I like the Orwell quote; it's a question of control. Who is really in power? Are the media, the politicians, the tech companies? It's a fair question watching the stories deemed misinformation today, later thought accurate when politically safe. We are living in exciting times indeed. Use the mind something bigger than yourself gave you, don't believe everything you hear or see.

I hope you have a good week; I hope you have plenty to keep you busy, and if not, you can manufacture some work to keep your mind moving forward. I'm not too fond of idle time; I like work, it gives me purpose, and when your work is helping others, it makes for a good life. So, great life, great wife, I'll leave it there.  

"Who controls the past controls the future. Who controls the present controls the past."
— George Orwell (1984)