Birthdays

Today is Jackie's birthday. I will not write how old she is, but she is at an unusual period in her adult life when birthdays are happy occasions, because each year she is getting closer to Social Security, Medicare, and retirement. Actually, I have tried to tell Jackie that she is already retired; she was laid off, with her last day at work being last Friday. I want to make that work for her, because trying to find a new job at her age after having her work shipped to India twice is just an ugly prospect.

We need to sell the house. It will work if we can sell the house. It will also work if we do not sell the house, but not as well.

Lucas's birthday was yesterday. He turned 30, so now I have a kid in his thirties. You just get older from here dude, sorry to tell you.

I turned 68 a couple of weeks ago. Someone once told me that 65 was the last good birthday, because you get Medicare. However, I still look forward to 70, because I have not taken Social Security yet, and I hope to start at age 70. After that, I suppose that you can celebrate every five years because you made it that far, and it beats the alternative.

Some people looked at the house on Monday, their second time visiting. They stayed two and a half hours, so we were hopeful, but we are learning not to be too hopeful, and they appear to have backed away. I wonder if people are cautious about buying when the market is declining.

New carpets are going in next Tuesday and Wednesday. Then, Jackie and I plan to take Arlo to New Mexico, where we will have a look at places we might rent if we sell the house and all goes according to plan. While we are gone, the house will be empty, with new carpets and a couple of new windows, and people can walk through at their leisure, and maybe someone will want it.