Living with the checklist

Loan application tasks, dental cleanings, weeding belongings, etc... Abigail and I are in checklist mode. Lucky for me, Abigail is a mastermind at planning and writes everything down in transition notebook. Today I will start a 'leaving McGill' and 'transition planning for Baylor.' For Baylor, I am going to try to do it via Microsoft OneNote. Actually i already have this notebook created, it's just empty. Baylor has the full Microsoft suite of tools available. I am already using Teams with a few new colleagues. Returning from our trip, I am aware of the expectation for both leading and collaborating when I arrive. It's within that framework that I need to plan.

My morning stops at Second Cup are becoming essential. My saying 'je voudrais un petit café ici' felt special. Here, I take the time to just breathe, sip a little café. Sitting here, I am fully aware of the blessings that God has provided in coming to Montreal and the promise of more good to come in Waco. It's too easy to stay in the 'things to do mindset' and not slowing long enough to be mindful and gracious.

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The healing process

It's been six month's since the bicycle crash. In the haze of the hospital, the thought was that I hit something in the road. In the clarity of time, it's clear that I was a victim of a hit and run. There was no way to explain the 6 fractures ribs in my upper left back. With a forward motion on an open road, the only explaination is a truck hitting me, holding on tight to the handlebars I fell to the left side for a good slide. During the slide, the helmet did the job of saving my life while did receive a severe concussion. My memory is black from the time that I left my house on the bike until around 3 o'clock in the afternoon as I came to in the ICU. The ribs healed fine aided by 3 titanium plates. The muscle, tendons, and skin from the surgery, the chest tube, the broken collar bone, are the lingering healing. Whether I regain all sensations on my side and left chest or not is still in question. The rotation of the shoulder is the last bit of rehab that wi

Buying the house, easing into Baylor

The weekend before going to Waco, we made an offer on a home. After a few counter offers, we accepted the seller’s last offer. The timing was perfect in that we arrived on a Thursday and saw the house for the first time. I could tell that Abigail was relieved finally seeing the home in person. The home inspection was Friday and detailed a number of major issues. Abigail was there for the inspections, which would not have been the case if we saved the house hunting for our trip. We asked that the seller address the roof, electrical, and HVAC deficiencies, which they accepted. Abigail is hard-core was clear that we would pull out of the deal if they were not going to address the roof and electric. Saturday, Cornelius, Amber, and little Neil came down to stay the night. We all went to our first Baylor athletic event, the Lady Bears (basketball) won the game as well and the Big 12title. They are ranked number 2 in the US. After breakfast, Cristy Nicols, our fantastic

Seizure helplessness

Buddy, the older of our two dogs, has what I think was a seizure this morning. I got him down on his and just tried to comfort him until it passed. He's only had one other one back in Montreal in the spring. The last time I saw my son Anthony alive was via a video call with my daughter Jennifer. Anthony was his side on the floor next to his bed. It was a difficult one and the medics were just arriving while Jennifer was trying to calm him. Jennifer and her two oldest daughters, Paige and Anasia, were used to helping Anthony through the seizures that were becoming more frequent. This seizure seems to take a lot out of Anthony as Jennifer told me that he stayed close to home for the next couple of weeks until he passed in the night due to the seizure. I am so proud of how they took care of Anthony the last three years as he battled the brain tumor. He died on August 7th.

rolling through, libraries, bikes, and more

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