Howdy,

Just kind of by circumstance, I’ve caught portions of the first two San Francisco Giants spring training games on the radio yesterday and today.

Baseball season — spring training, at least — is back!

Good to hear Giants baseball on the radio again. (They won’t cover the whole spring, a few here and there, but the first one was interesting for kicking off the season.)

Excited to have spring training going because I’ve had a chance to make the trip to Arizona three times in the past and plan to go this year as well. Got the juices flowing yesterday and today … Baseball!

Realizing games are going made me think of checking in on the Seattle Mariners this afternoon to see if friend Cody Martin, pitcher, (from Dos Palos) had made any appearances in this young spring season, and, I kid you not, it just so happened that Martin was wrapping up his second inning of scoreless relief against the San Diego Padres.

The Mariners won 13-3, and Cody pitched the seventh and eighth innings without giving up a hit or a walk while striking out two batters. It’s a good start for him, and I definitely wish Martin luck in having a great spring and making the Mariners for the start of the season. Cody and my youngest brother David used to play travel ball together, and I enjoy keeping in touch with how he’s doing.

September 2015, Jasper and I were able to make the game in Oakland when Cody Martin made his first career start on the mound in a game against the Anaheim Angels. That was cool.

Go get ‘em, Cody! Good game today.

—Billy

Reading. Writing. Living.

Word Count: 72,938 / On Pace: 72,600 / Year’s Goal: 200,000

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Howdy,

Shopping at IKEA with kids.

Don’t do it.

Advice for a future Friday night.

Have a good weekend.

—Billy

Reading. Writing. Living.

Howdy,

I promise I was not going to write or whine about my back again for the third or fourth consecutive day — I don’t know, they run together. I’m deciding that I’m still not going to write about it.

I’ll find another topic. But …

But when I was driving this afternoon and looked to the backseat and saw Riah sticking his toes in his mouth, in his mouth, like literally sucking on a toe, I thought, Wow, to be young again … (as they say — they being older people, whomever they are …).

And I also thought, I can’t even imagine.

I mean, reaching my foot to my mouth to suck on a toe … not going to happen (and why?). Not with my back. The way it is, or just as a hardened adult. My skeletal structure is much more solid than Riah’s cartilage set of flexible baby bones. Maybe this doesn’t have to be about an injury but about being grown.

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Howdy,

Well, I’m on ice again.

But, no, not because my back’s worse than yesterday. No it’s still getting better,  without an overly aggravating episode. Again, thankfully.

No, I’m on an ice pack at this very minute because I found my sheet of exercises and did my back rehab today. Just finished.

It took about an hour and twenty minutes to do a light version of the 11 exercises and some additional stretching (foam roller and other things to decompress).

That’s (part of) why I have such a hard time accomplishing my task of rehab routine. It takes significant time.

The exercises I have been given ask for multiple sets, two or three times a day. (To be fair, most are twice a day, not thrice.) Taking the stretching out of my hours and 20 minutes, it was about 45 minutes going through the exercises for one session.

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Howdy,

[Afternoon drafting] Well, my tight and cranky and tenuous lower back has been a lot looser today than I would have expected last night. Than I did expect last night.

I was afraid of this morning, of today, but it’s going okay — for which I am very thankful.

I guess maybe I’ll start light rehabilitation steps tomorrow …

Today, Sarah’s parents have been so good to me, stopping by and taking Titus and Riah for most of the day as well as picking Jasper up from school. Helping me, hopefully, avoid accidentally throwing my back out lifting Riah or being jumped on by Ti Shalom.

(Titus Shalom = “Defender of the Peace” but Uncle Matt often calls it as he sees it and has fun designating Ti “Destroyer of the Peace.” It’s true that you never know when he might come flying out of nowhere to cannonball on you.)

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Howdy,

In the middle of the times when the consistency effort is needed we don’t usually want to admit this, but it is truly amazing the price we pay for failing to take the small steps necessary for real results.

The price we pay for not taking action on the things we need to do. For not prioritizing and making it happen. For not listening, believing. Not making a change. Or the effort, with consistency.

This is true in lots of areas, spiritual obedience, exercise, creation of artistic content, developing disciple, reaching goals, etc., etc., including… rehab — pt, physical therapy.

Here’s a familiar story for me.

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Howdy,

Maybe I could wait a bit longer and then could write about an NBA Basketball All-Star Game in which both sides scored 200 points.

Not total.

Both teams.

East and West, 200 points each.

I haven’t watched any of it, but I noticed the half-time score was West 97 — East 92.

People have joked about scores in the 200’s, but that’s still a reach.

I’d say this year had a chance, but, supposedly — if the game is close at the end — players compete just a little and play just a little D in the latter part of the fourth quarter.

Competitors sniffing the chance for a win. For bragging rights.

So, if the only semblance of defense is yet to be played, maybe a score of 200 won’t happen this year.

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Howdy,

(Weather update, just for fun: well, it’s pretty much been sunny all day, a beautiful day, big sky, a brilliant variation of artistic-looking clouds. Not a rainstorm, though it’s not hard to believe that’s still to come in these next days …)

It took us a while, I have to admit that, but we did take advantage of the nice weather this afternoon after a slow morning, eventually making it outside as a family. (I’m telling you, that — somehow — can be a couple hour process. Not really working on it the whole time (we’re not actual sloths!, though the boys would seriously love that — “CREATURE POWER!!” Jasper and Titus are quite into Wild Kratts and animals right now), but talking about it and re-circling the wagons a few times to get everyone on the same page and ready for an adventure at the same time. Then, at the last moment, when we’re ready to embark, we just make everyone pause while that diaper is changed or bottle is being made or etc., etc., you get the picture. We’re a fast moving group. Especially when we have to strap all the kids in the car. It’s an insane revelation when we’re carpooling with others, like from a restaurant back to someone’s house for dessert. We don’t keep up. It’s more like I look at Sarah and go, in the tone of the Chicago White Sox announcer, Ken Harrelson, “They gone.” You may have heard “The Hawk,” as Harrelson is called, say, “He gone.” I can’t say that I listen to Chicago baseball games [White Sox or Cubbies], but I’ve heard highlights, and, apparently, there are a ton of homerism “Hawkisms.” In case you were interested. Likely not, but, anyway, we use, “He gone!” Probably because the grammar’s so strong.)

But we made it!

Outside, and for some exercise.

Walking, jogging, riding, scootering, and strolling.

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Howdy,

Well, the new rain is here.

And wind!

Holy moly, is it WINDY today.

Blustery, you might say.

I don’t know about the tempestuous wind — I’m not a weather man, after all, contrary to my apparent interest and draw to writing about it lately — but the rain seems to be forecasted to stick around for a few days.

And I say new rain, as in we got a short break; and it’s back.

I pray the dams, levees, and river banks hold, and the homes and property in flooding areas hold up. Amen.

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