Ever stood in the batters\u2019 box and faced a good knuckle-baller? They are the worst, I think, because their pitches, for this not-so-hot player anyway, are by far the most unpredictable. High and inside? Low and away? Should I swing? Where?<\/p>\n
You never know for sure until the ball passes you by\u2026 and the \u2018ump\u2019 cries \u201cstee-rike!\u201d You glance towards the dugout, and you easily spot the coach\u2026 hands on hips, scowl of disapproval on his face\u2026 the implied threat of benching you\u2026 again. The pressure builds\u2026<\/p>\n
The utter confusion and bewilderment weigh heavily upon us, as \u2018life\u2019 constantly tosses knuckle-balls in our direction, too\u2026 Now what? Should I stay, should I go, should I do this or that\u2026? Often, we\u2019re paralyzed in our tracks with indecision, and only the \u2018cry of the ump\u2019 after-the-fact, and too late to affect the outcome, does the correct answer make itself known to us\u2026<\/p>\n
My cousin\/brother is now spending his third day in the hospital. What was at first thought to be a ferocious flu bug has now turned into something more serious\u2026 at least it isn\u2019t life threatening. He\u2019s had a run of ill-fortune with his lower digestive tract for a number of years, and it now appears certain that condition has not yet run its course. He\u2019ll soon be released, perhaps tomorrow, but who knows how long he\u2019ll be under the weather\u2026<\/p>\n
My course, at least for the next few days, is set. I\u2019ve done some obvious chores here at the house to ease his return, but that is little consolation. He lives alone, and he works part-time, but everything is on hold for now. I, too, am on hold\u2026<\/p>\n
Mercifully, ALI is most tolerant, and she does seem to understand. She just leans gently against her kickstand in the garage and waits\u2026 patiently, quietly, stoically. I did change her oil and filter the other day\u2026 good plan to set that up a couple of months ago, on a previous visit. Heck, Nick even has a \u2018roller stool\u2019 to ease the once easy but now rather arduous task of bending over to reach the drain plug and filter!<\/p>\n
When in situations like this, I often turn to the word processor feature of my laptop for\u2026 whatever\u2026 A place to vent, an outlet for feelings, an occasional source of \u2018answers\u2019\u2026 not a crystal ball, mind you, but\u2026 And, not the instrument itself either, of course, but the act of thinking through what\u2019s going on and then putting it all down. Actually committing things to writing is a very usual and helpful undertaking, I\u2019ve found\u2026<\/p>\n
Because it is by definition a \u2018record\u2019 of sorts, it forces a certain level of honesty, thoroughness, and need for accuracy. It requires me to think more deeply and to focus upon details otherwise easily overlooked. I find that by doing this, I can work through conundrums and quandaries, and sometimes an answer will mysteriously appear\u2026 always, however, I find it helpful\u2026<\/p>\n
That, my friends, brings me up to date\u2026 I\u2019m sitting here searching for an answer, as yet another knuckle-ball speeds in my direction… I already know what that answer almost certainly will be, too\u2026 Stay the course, play things by ear, react as appropriate when additional information and options present themselves\u2026 Hmmm, just like with every other puzzling situation and circumstance in life, huh\u2026 Careful, thoughtful, meticulous planning is useful, often essential, but in the end\u2026 well\u2026 you know\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Ever stood in the batters\u2019 box and faced a good knuckle-baller? They are the worst, I think, because their pitches, for this not-so-hot player anyway, are by far the most unpredictable. High and inside? Low and away? Should I swing? …<\/span> Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-824","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-meanderings-by-ddt-2"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/willowinthewind.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/824","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/willowinthewind.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/willowinthewind.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/willowinthewind.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/willowinthewind.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=824"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/willowinthewind.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/824\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":825,"href":"https:\/\/willowinthewind.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/824\/revisions\/825"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/willowinthewind.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=824"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/willowinthewind.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=824"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/willowinthewind.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=824"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}