Happy is as happy does

Why am I so happy these days? Let me count the ways.

1. I get to spend a lot of time with our two grandchildren, ages 4 and 2. The oldest recently swam for the first time with just Pop-Pop by his side. Gavin so trusted me that he let go of my fingers. I felt so honored I almost cried.
2. I have my health. Eight months after prostate-removal surgery, I can run six miles in under 60 minutes, do 20 chin-ups in three minutes, ride my one-speed bicycle for 68 miles (one for every year of my existence) and get through an hour of hot yoga without going to the ER.
3. MaryAnne has her health. She works out, sings, dances, plays music and continues to be the brains of the outfit.
4. Thanks to therapy, I understand how my selfishness has made living with me so difficult. For too long, MaryAnne put up with a husband who cared little about her emotional needs. I’m determined to improve.
5. Thanks to our computer wizard of an oldest son, the curious among you can access four pet projects — columns (mine and those of others whose writing I admire), feature stories from my years in Appalachia and interviews I conducted with three dozen veterans of the civil rights movement from the 1960s. The address is www.pluggerpublishing.com. The introduction of Coming Together provides access to a pair of 30-minute interviews I conducted with African-Americans in Evansville, Ind., and Greenwood, Miss., who talk about living under segregation.
6. I can still write a lick. A humorous op-ed I penned about the prostate surgery recently appeared in the Chicago Tribune. My piece about losing Mom to smoking-induced lung cancer was in newspapers in Tulsa, Louisville and Providence, R.I., as well as several medical publications. My third one-act play will be a part of the upcoming IndyFringe Festival.

7. We are financially blessed. Money is not a stressor.

8. MaryAnne and I live in a place (Carmel, Ind.) that earns national recognition for being a great place to live. Crime is almost non-existent. There are tons of great restaurants and our condo complex abuts a paved hiking/biking trail that extends 17 miles in both directions.

9. I don’t have to work.

10. This blog has received more than 1,000 views since my first post in March of 2017. I’m reaching a lot of people who want to keep up with a newly discovered Aspie as he tries to figure out his brain. I’ll keep writing a lick.