The USS Bierko, the name I chose for our truck and camper combo (and our WiFi address), has landed in the south! At 12 noon, we departed Bryn Mawr after Beth taught her chair yoga class and arrived in Alexandria, Virginia around 5:30pm. Despite dire predictions about the weather and Friday afternoon D.C. traffic, we …
The Final Good Bye There was exhaustion, lost in it Barely able to think straight To function Bone-weary tired like never before Some combination of lousy sleep Manual labor, mental fatigue And bereavement There was stuff, so much of it Still After months of clearing out and cleaning up Hauling off Selling, donating, delivering, giving …
We are spending two nights with our friend, Bill G., recuperating from the past few weeks. I have listened to the advice of those who love me, to rest before making more forward progress to our first campground in Savannah, GA. When we pulled out of Yorktown Heights, our truck groaned with the combined weight …
A father sees a son nearing manhood. What shall he tell that son? “Life is hard; be steel, be a rock.” and this might stand him for the storms and serve him for the humdrum and monotony and guide him among sudden betrayals and tighten him for slack moments. “Life is soft loam; be gentle, …
No amount of caffeine is enough to battle my fatigue. The reason is that it’s not the kind of fatigue that comes from 16 hour days or lifting lots of stuff. It’s from grief. When we lose something we love it’s natural to grieve. We do it at wakes or shiva or memorials for loved …
Plan A was and is to be a full -time writer. When I was a teenager, my heroes were the songwriters, arrangers and producers of great music. Of course, I enjoyed electric performers, but my spine tingled and my heart jumped more from the song than the performance of it. The same is true of …
Today is Sunday, January 30, 2022. It’s 9:10am here in New York. As I write this, Beth is teaching a yoga class to her devoted followers. One of our reliable contractors, Edison Chimbo, is loading up our outdoor furniture and taking it to a friend who can use it. I’m in my office studio, a …
Our home has an echo because there is no furniture, rugs, or belongings soaking up the sound. By the end of this weekend, everything we own will be in our camper, at a friend’s house or inside of a small storage container. The documents are all signed and the new owners will have this home …
Beth and I are reacting to the pressure in different ways and the contrast is remarkable, painful at times and comical. Beth decides what items to store, take or let go by placing the item some place in our home, feeling its connection and worth to her and then judging where it goes. This may …
I’m completely out of gas, flat, exhausted, and spent. I accomplished a lot, but not without beating myself up in the process. It’s not healthy to go this hard for days on end, but when you’re up against the clock there’s little choice. I write this to remind myself how much work it takes to …