Careful to Not Be Careless

My dad used to call it "being all stoved up", meaning he felt stiff and sore. He'd stand after sitting for a while and moved stiffly around until his body complied with where he wanted to go. That was usually after working in out in the yard or in the garage or whatever the physical activity was, including walking the dogs and/or walking with my mom. He didn't really exercise otherwise, but after the stroke he had right after he retired from the police department in 1994, he did the best he could to take care of himself and stay active until he passed in 2012. 

I'm thinking of him because his birthday is right around the corner. He'd be 93 if he was still alive. Mercy me. I'm also thinking of him because I've got a big birthday coming up later this year and it includes the numbers 6 and 0. Mercy me, again.

My wife Amy and I are gratefully healthy and exercise regularly, and yet are both north of 50 years old. Amy, who's almost six years younger than me, is much more flexible than I am, but gets just as "stoved up" after sitting down to work for any length of time. Since we both work from home, we'll both be sitting and working away after our morning workouts, and then when my watch reminds me that it's time to stand, I can feel and hear my bones creak and pop as I do so. Same with Amy. We'll both moan and laugh, but we feel it all. 

Which is why we're careful not to overdo it when working out and careful not to trip and fall when walking or hiking. Our two teens don't play sports anymore, but they are both active. Our oldest Beatrice uses our home gym a few times a week and our youngest Bryce, well, doesn't -- but sometimes walks the dog with us at the end of the day. They'll be starting high school this year and both will be in theater and choir, so there will be some physical activity within those activities.

Our teens are still young and spry, as they should be. Amy and I are not. Healthy, though, and grateful to be so, both of us with positive and balanced body images. Balanced as in "a little fit / a little fat". In fact, Amy saw a t-shirt with that on it, and we promised we'd get one for each of us. Stay tuned for that.

Now that I'm almost 60, I want to ensure that I'll always be active and able to do the beach workouts that I do each week, or to just be able to take walks with Amy along the water or in the redwoods when I'm 90+ (and she's 84+). And to stay healthy and active for our kids and grandkids someday. Of course, you never know what could happen in life, when you're going to go, or what you might break, even just working around the house, which is why we're careful to not to be careless no matter what we're doing. 

Blessings to the old-ish folks. Stay as healthy as you can, kids. 

A Fussy Grateful Hybrid

"Goodness, this car is fussier than anyone in our family," Amy said.

"You mean fussier than Dad?" I said.

Amy laughed. "I didn't say that."

"But it's true," I said. 

Amy laughed again. 

"At least it'll keep us safe with all the warning pings, beeps, and buzzes," I said.

"Sure, but we've got to be able to turn them down," Amy said, fiddling with the new touchscreen dashboard.

Is she talking about the new car or me? I thought.

We hadn't had a new car for nine years. Didn't think we needed a new car after nine years. But our last car of nine years was having transmission issues after hitting over 100K miles. Transmission issues that two dealer trips and three AAMCO trips later gleaned no answers for us. 

It was a 2017 Santa Fe Hyundai. We loved that car. Took our whole family a lot of miles safely for most of those nine years and had really low maintenance overall. At least until the transmission started acting up. For a few years we towed a trailer camper, and while our Santa Fe was technically able to tow the trailer, it probably put excessive strain on the transmission. 

So, it was time to get a new car. After a couple of test drives, we really liked the new Hyundai IONIQ 5 electronic vehicle (EV). The EV hi-tech world we're just now experiencing is a story for another time, and in the meantime, we love it. But it pings, beeps, and buzzes a lot of warnings, all the time.

Watch out for the things in front of you!

Watch out for the things to the sides of you!

Watch out for the things behind you!

Don't forget the passengers in the back seats!

Don't forget the passengers in the front seats!

Don't forget to live your life to the fullest and be grateful for every moment!

Okay, that last one isn't a real car warning, but it is how we roll as the kids say. Not sure the kids say that anymore, though. Our kids don't, but I certainly do.

Amy's fussy new car joke fits me perfectly, however. I'm the "no" dad. The dad who fills up quickly with fussy angst and says:

No, we're not doing that. 

No, I'm not doing that.

No, we aren't going there.

And then more pings, beeps, and buzzes like the new car:

Watch out for the things in front of you!

Watch out for the things to the sides of you!

Watch out for the things behind you!

"Dad's getting fussy again," I can hear my kids say as I write this.

Maybe I am fussier than our new EV. Dang. Well, at least I'm a fussy grateful hybrid. A used one with a lot of miles, but always grateful for every moment. 

Financial Literacy Is Required Reading

I remember riding my bike to work at 5:40 in the morning for my new summer job. I got hired at 15 and a half to work in the produce department of a local grocery store. It was close to where we lived so the bike ride wasn't too bad. Plus, early summertime mornings growing up in Visalia, California, were quite warm, but still the coolest part of the day. I worked a split shift -- I'd work from 6:00 to 10:00 AM and then come back and work from 3:00 to 7:00 PM. Each week that summer I worked 35+ hours, ultimately saving enough for my first car. I worked part-time during school and then again nearly full-time the following summer. 

This is the second summer that our oldest Beatrice has worked nearly full-time as a camp counselor at a summer day camp. Like I did way back then, she rides a bike to work early, around 7:10 each morning, although one big difference is that she rides an electric bike. The electric bike I bought a few years ago that I thought I'd use a lot more but ultimately did not. At least Beatrice is ensuring we're getting our money's worth. She doesn't work a split shift like I did, working straight through to 3:00 PM.

Beatrice is "making bank" as the saying goes and she's saving money, not spending it all. She even has a savings CD for goodness' sake. Her mom Amy and I never did that growing up. We spent it all! Yes, I saved and bought my first car, but that was about it back then. 

Beatrice isn't buying a car anytime soon, but she is going for her driver's permit later this year. When that happens, that'll open a whole new world of car insurance calculus for us. Our insurance will go up at least 30% once she starts driving. Thankfully she's not in a rush to drive, and neither are we, at least until she starts college.

Since Beatrice has been working and making bank, Bryce wants some of that action now, too. But they're only turning 15 this year, and there aren't many jobs they can legally work at that age. The Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk offers jobs for 14+ years old, but neither Beatrice nor Bryce have been interested in that. Bryce loves going thrifting with Amy, so that's of interested once they hit 15 and a half, to work at a thrift store. 

The adulting is here. Financial literacy and fiscal responsibility are practices we've worked to instill in both Beatrice and her sibling Bryce. It started when the bank of Mom and Dad set up payment plans for iPads they purchased, taking part of their allowance each week until the devices were paid off. Allowances that they have actual chores to do to earn. And they do them. Not without parental reminders and cajoling at times, but they get them all done. We also occasionally negotiate the current set of chores for each, which we don't have a problem doing, as long as the sets don't decrease in activities. 

Both kids have mutual fund accounts we started for them, and again, Beatrice has a savings CD. Having their own money to spend is exciting and freeing, especially for Bryce, which is why we're emphasizing savings more emphatically. Something that Mom and Dad didn't do very well at that age. We also don't want them to spend more than they have and get overextended on credit (something that I screwed up in adulting). And now that the world of work is being transformed by continuous economic upheaval, artificial intelligence, and more, financial literacy is required reading in our house.