“…Don’t go around tonight
Well, it’s bound to take your life
There’s a bathroom on the right…”

~Commonly misheard Credence Clearwater Revival lyrics

The last couple of days have had some rough edges.

• My wife Abby’s arthritis is being pushed to the limit by some very odd weather changes. She’s really suffering, and there’s little I can do to help or comfort her.
• Last week at a house fire, fire rescue removed a dog that died from smoke inhalation. I felt bad for everyone in every way.
• Yesterday, a long-ago girlfriend called. We’ve stayed lightly in touch for some years, but I seldom hear from her, so it was almost completely unexpected to see her name on the caller ID. I say “almost” because she texted all of her contacts that she was having invasive surgery associated with cancer, so when I saw the ID, for a second I thought she might have died. Her voice was thin and her speech was deeply slurred; obviously she was heavily medicated. She told me she loved me, but was unable to communicate anything else very clearly. I don’t know – maybe she was saying goodbye.
• This morning I came into the office to find that a normally lit desk was dark. Within an hour I discovered that someone I knew and liked had been abruptly terminated, though no one who could talk to me knew exactly why.
• After working the morning half of my split shift today, I went to Walgreens to get a few things for Abby. While in the back of the store, I heard a toddler pitching a fit. By the time I got to the check out line, the toddler was a little calmer, but it was clear that his mother was struggling. When another woman mentioned something like “we’ve all been there” about the child, the mother burst into tears and told us that the father had left them. Two women went to hug and comfort her, and that seemed right.

If there are bright spots on this dark day, one would be that my vegan diet is going great. I have tripled my intake of broccoli and red cabbage while reducing my overall caloric intake. And I just got a call from a coworker who is in Texas and found Tofurky on sale and offered to pick up a couple for me.

Another good thing is that I was shuffling through my iPod playlist in my car the other day and stopped on Mat Kearney. I know you have all been in the same place with music – it sounds okay when you first try it, then later when the mood strikes, you really like it. This week was one of those times for Kearney. I listened to the whole playlist, and liked everything better than I did before. One song stuck out as not only particularly apt for the mood of the week, but as just really great. Sooner or Later…

We’re all standing with our backs against the wall
Sooner or later
Waiting on a phone that never calls, at all
Heartbreak comes, rolling in like a storm
Sooner or later
Trying to swim but you’re sinking like a stone, alone

And I can feel fire in the night waiting here
Baby it’s like we’re walking on a wire through the fear
Take my hand, we’ll get there

Sooner or later, I swear we’re gonna make it, we’re gonna make it,
Sooner or later, I swear we’re gonna make it, we’re gonna make it
Milk and honey ’til we get our fill, I’ll keep chasing it, I always will
Sooner or later, I swear, We’ll make it there, Sooner than later
Sooner or later, Sooner than later, Sooner or later

We’re all waiting on a dream that’s hard to own, sooner or later
Trying to feel the high without the low, you know
But you can feel fire in the night lying here
Baby it’s like we’re walking on a wire through the fear
Take my hand, we’ll get there

Sooner or later, I swear we’re gonna make it, we’re gonna make it,
Sooner or later, I swear we’re gonna make it, we’re gonna make it
Milk and honey ’til we get our fill, I’ll keep chasing it, I always will
Sooner or later, I swear, We’ll make it there
Sooner than later, sooner or later

The fear inside, the hills we’ve climbed
The tears this side of heaven, 
All these dreams inside of me
I swear we’re gonna get there

Sooner or later, we’re gonna make it

Sooner or later, I swear we’re gonna make it, we’re gonna make it,
Sooner or later, I swear we’re gonna make it, we’re gonna make it
Milk and honey ’til we get our fill, I’ll keep chasing it, I always will
Sooner or later, I swear, We’ll make it there, Sooner than later

The fear inside, the hills we’ve climbed
The tears this side of heaven, 
All these dreams inside of me
I swear we’re gonna get there

Despite the bad moon, I am optimistic.