I'm separated from my wife...but for only five days and four nights a week. Here's what's happening:

I live in Bloomington IN and work for a company with headquarters 75 miles further south. January 2009, after 2 1/2 years of working from a home office, I was told I had to come to the corporate office to perform my job - yes, the same job I'd successfully been doing from home. Given that mandate there were few choices, and with the economy going into a tailspin, quitting wasn't one of them. So for six months now I've driven down early Monday mornings and back Fridays after work, renting an inexpensive "sleeping room" through the week. Considering the carbon footprint, wear-and-tear on the car, increased potential for accidents or tickets and so on, that made more sense than a roundtrip of 150 miles five days a week.

One of the consequences, however, is that I'm separated from my wife and our cats for a large part of every week.... from my home, my life and our friends in Bloomington... plus I have to try to "catch up" on everything over what now seems to be very short weekends. I do try to stay positive: "I still HAVE a job," "this won't last long," "I'll find something else closer to home."

Karen more-or-less persistently embraces the view that since this has gone on longer than we'd thought, some splendid new thing surely must be coming to me, something far better than I ever could imagine. I love that perspective, and I love her deeply for all her help, empathy and support during this dispiriting situation. And believe me, I can and have imagined all sorts of wonderful outcomes. Whatever comes to resolve this dilemma must be shiny indeed.

Again, as yesterday, I see I've spoken of 'the unknown', 'the mysterious', that force which moves things in the world. I am very willing for that force to reconcile all these disparate parts. Putting this blog out into the Universe is, I hope, pushing the wheel for positive change. What wheel, where it gets pushed, what comes next and when.... now we're back to mystery once more.

Write your heart's desire

and who knows - it may come true -

stranger things can pass

Tim