Cards and Flowers

February 7, 2006

It is almost impossible to believe that we have been home for nearly a month.  The days are flying by.  Once again we are busy and engaged with all of the outside activities that were simply not present in our Roman experience.  I have been hard at work in my office trying to get on track with business that has been going on since I left and Kim is still trying to get everything back together at the various houses that others have called home while we were gone.  Her standards are high and it seems that we will be doing lots of work in Sonoma to bring things up to snuff because of much deferred maintenance.  Floors to be sanded, some new rugs, fixtures to be replace and the inevitable once every 7 to 10 years, houses to be painted.  A litany of little and big jobs to put it all back in mint condition. 

A sort of corollary to our program is the stunning fact that we have been going to and living in Sonoma for 11 years.  Lots of things have changed and it is not surprising that our compound needs a little spiffing up.  On February 3 we celebrated our 16^th wedding anniversary.  It was a low-key event (we are trying to get to 50) with dinner out with friends and the exchange of diamonds and furs (just kidding), cards and flowers.  The fact that I am still crazy about Kimbo not withstanding, the time has flown by and I still want more.  When we came home from Rome, it was mostly about me getting a respiratory infection cleared up.  The cold in Rome just seemed too cold and the rain too wet.  The lovely Ms. Kim also had an infection and what seemed to be an issue with her throat.  It felt like a lump and though we went to Doctors in Spain and Italy, when we got home it was still there.  So we are on the trail of finding out what is happening,  Nothing definite is clear yet and there are more tests to come.  She is a fantastic trouper and non-complainer.  I do admire her stoic and upbeat approach to finding the answers.  I have never handled illness well and this is a tough test for me.  I am meditating more frequently and longer and it helps keep the nerves settled.  We are contemplating going to a meditation day at the famous Spirit Rock in Northwest Marin.  It seems they have lots of retreats.  The hard part is that most of them are silent.  The big guy at Spirit Rock is Jack Kornfeld.  He is a famous spiritualist and has another name.  I can’t remember what it is but I will call him Jack.  He is one of those very wise guys who seem to see the answers before they know the questions.  I am not cavalier about the prospect of going but having never been silent, it may be a long day. 

I know it seems a cliché but the weather affects my mood in such a deep way.  Today was so California beautiful.  Deep blue skies, warm breezes, and the prospect of a dry couple of days, all make me feel better.  Sitting up on the third floor looking at our skyline with the lights and stars at the same time is like taking an upper. Basically, I have become grateful for everyday.  I should have done that a long time ago.