(1) I was feeling grumpy and innervated yesterday, lacking confidence in my ability to perform even mundane tasks, let alone the finer things. Then I went for a 2 1/2 mile run, and afterwards I felt light, breezy, free and flowing. It’s a gift God gave me that I can keep this up at the age of seventy. I’d probably have been dead a long time ago, without long distance running.

(2) I was feeling hassled this morning after “oversleeping” and feeling like I was “running late” when I realized that I didn’t really have to be anywhere “on time” and that a greater blessing would be to take it slow, one step at a time–even though it goes against the grain of my natural get-up-and-go.

(3) That said, I decided to break out the bicycle for the first time since all the snowfall, and as hassled as I felt beforehand, I felt just as liberated as I zipped down the hill, feeling the crisp wind breezing across my face.

(4) Later, I was mildly miffed to find myself walking my bike up the super-steep hills I was almost certain to encounter, as I had set about an uncharted course in routine avoidance of a recurrence of recent neighborhood turbulence. But then, my first conversation in the day turned out to be very encouraging, as a nice lady gave me efficient directions as to how to get myself back to the downtown area, while her husband and young son looked on in admiration.

(5) Last but not least, when I went to pay my rent on Monday, I was advised I could no longer keep my apartment past the day of the lease I’d already boldly asserted I would not be renewing in June. But in the same breath, they told me they would gladly rent me another apartment in a better location for a $115 rent reduction.

The apartment being three blocks from the cafe in which I sit, five blocks from the Recovery Center, and six blocks from my church, I quickly realized I would be saving money on food as well as rent, since I will no longer be compelled to eat out in order to avoid the long trek up and down steep hills to my present apartment, infested with unpleasant memories, as it were.

The only hitch is the move-in-date is not until July 7th. So I have to float for five weeks, being as I need to be out of my apartment in June. C’est la vie. If anyone has ever “floated” for five weeks, it’s me. And to rent from these guys is worth it. They’re the best landlords I’ve ever had.

“It’s never too late to become who you want to be. I hope you live a life that you’re proud of, and if you find that you’re not, I hope you have the strength to start over.” – F. Scott Fitzgerald

Please donate to Eden in Babylon.