Less is More/ Life at Top Knot

I was fortunate last week and got to take a trip back to where I grew up in New Jersey. The house in Flemington is where I lived from birth to 10 years old. The current owner was extremely kind and, after I described the layout of the interior in great detail, offered to let me walk through. As is the case with all things, it seemed so much smaller than I remembered.  I was flooded with memories. Christmas mornings on the stairs. We had to let our dad take a pic before we go to the presents. Riding sleds in the yard. Trick or treating in the neighborhood. Riding the wheels off 3 Big Wheels.  But also the violence. My next up older brother was incredibly abusive to me there. Broke my neck. Regular punching and beating. Held me bareback in a hornets nest. Put cigarettes out on me. Literally attempted to kill me 5-10 times living there. Also visited the second neighborhood I lived in. 5th-7th grade. A lot more positive memories there. That brother left home after the first year o...

​ Weekend started off strong….double Shirley Temple. It had been a lot of peopling during the week. Then, as is the case at Top Knot, Mother Nature did her thing. Stars out last night. 50 degrees, blue skies, no humidity, calm winds today. It’s overwhelmingly peaceful and battery charging to be up here. Readies me for the upcoming week.  Dropped a few trees. Did some work on the porch. Tweaked the solar system a little. Cooked some yummy burgers for dinner. Chatted up the chipmunks while they feasted on the peanuts and Cheerios I “spilled”. Listened to the creek running strong in the distance.  Now the sun has set and the stars are out again. Temp is falling and it will be good sleeping tonight.  The consulting company website has been redesigned and will launch soon. This next week, I am traveling to New Jersey and NYC and will visit some places that hold lots of memories. Some wonderful and some that take me back to dark times. Times I thought I wasn’t going to survive....

Life at Top Knot. And I have been granted another trip around the sun. Birthdays take on a mixed significance. My last one in my 50s. I am fully aware I am over the crest of life. But I am not giving up for a second. Some things require a little more thought and science an contemplation, but there isn’t anything I feel I can’t do. That’s not true. I can’t lose weight and eat what I want. I can’t run like I used to. (Don’t miss that) Flexibility is a distant memory. Fusing 3 vertebrae in my neck and another 3 in my lower back didn’t help. My patience for clueless people is on a steady decline. But I’m forever a dreamer. That part of me will always be going. Next week, next month, next year, 5 years, 10, 20, 30. After that, we’ll see. Lots of travel. Making memories…while my memory still works.😜 But also making plans and dreaming of days of doing absolutely nothing.  I’m watching thunderstorms roll through right now. Hail earlier today that sounded so great on the metal roof. Listen...