Absence, Owen, ending right

I was out all last week. Mama and I were convinced early on that I was struggling with an inner ear infection. Saturday of the week before last, I started feeling dizzy. I had gotten a lot done in the shop and around the farm, but when I sat still late in the evening, I did not feel well. I got up Sunday morning and everything was spinning around. Sunday was the worst. I laid back in my recliner and spent the entire day like that. Most of the night as well. Monday I was a bit better but still having to move with extreme care. I was okay as long as I stayed still. I continued to call in sick through Wednesday. Took vacation on Thursday and Friday. So, I missed the whole week. I was supposed to teach class last week, but that did not happen. That is perhaps a good thing since I plan to move into our business full time in a couple months. I am scheduled to teach two classes and a workshop next week. I certainly hope to be better by then.

Monday, even though I was feeling badly and a bit unsteady on my feet, I attended the auction in Lawton. I left the house early enough to look at four houses on the list so I could confirm their viability and was still about a half hour early for the sale. I was able to talk briefly with the realtor prior to the auction and we agreed on one particular house that he would bid on for Mama and me – at a specified maximum price. When the house came up, he placed the first bid $100 over the minimum required by the bank and no one else offered a bid on the property. The price required was well within our budget. We will close on the house some time next month. Unfortunately, little has been done on the first property we bought but I was told by the realtor that he hopes to have it complete by the end of this month. I am not sure that is possible, but I do not know how big a crew he has access to for the remodel. We will see. At the very least, I would like to see the house on the market by the end of May. That is my new muster out date from my current job. (But that date, contingent on selling at least one property, is flexible.)

Thursday and Friday Mama and I went to Amarillo and spent a couple days with Chase, Makaila and Owen. While we were there, I met with our new tax accountant. We had a very good visit on both counts. Owen is a quiet, cuddle one year old. Very attached to his mama. But he did spare some time for me and Mama. Mostly, we just watched him play. He has the most unusual way of getting up from a sitting position to a standing position. When he is sitting, he will bring his feet back to his hips, rock slightly forward and stand up. One fluid motion. It was quite impressive. Remarkably efficient and only possible with the flexibility that will soon be lost to him as he grows. We had a very good visit with Chase and Makaila. We got to see the gym they have set up. We even got to watch the final minutes of a workout session. They stumbled across a very good business model and have employed it effectively. How long they can keep it going remains to be seen, but for now, it is more than paying for itself as well as supplying all their financial needs. Mama wants to make the trip to Amarillo at least twice per year while we are still at the farm, but I am not sure if we can follow through on that. Her reason is to be able to allow Owen to be as familiar with us as the rest of our grandchildren are. We’ll see.

Meeting our new accountant gave me and Mama the sense that we are handling our business in the right way. For the moment, we will continue to do things with the accounts as we have been doing, but next year, as the financial reach of the company grows, we will need to make some tweaks for the sake of lightening our tax liability. We have not been informed as to how much we owe this year, but that should be forthcoming - within the next couple weeks. I am certain, we will know within a month since today is the 18^th of March and taxes are due April 15^th.

Mama and I stopped on the way out of town to see Mrs. Patrick. She is not 88 years old. Frail and forgetful, but still going. Still with a wonderful sense of humor and a deep love for the Lord. Mama and I do not know how many of those visits we have left, but we did make the needed contacts to ensure that if something happens to Mrs. Patrick, we will be informed.

The week began poorly, but it ended well.