Good Hips and a Death in the Family
Today was just a great fucking day with a bit of sadness mixed in. I feel like a new person now that my hip seems to be getting sorted out. It affects my mood and every part of my day. I feel stronger, more confident, and fully capable of doing everything I want to do. During today’s workout, I got to comfortably swing a kettlebell for the first time in months. The sweating, breathing, chalk, floor contact, and effort made a glorious combination.
Other than a great workout, I had some hilarious work meetings, texted some friends, went to Costco for steak and eggs, walked Arvid, finished “Running the Table” by L. Jon Wertheim (super entertaining book), and ate a gigantic homemade ground beef burrito.
The bad news today was that my second cousin Eric passed away kind of suddenly. It’s been a very long time since I saw Eric, but, even though he was a Bulls fan, I knew him to be a sweet and funny man who took care of his family. A few quick memories about Eric…
One time, my dad took our family to Champaign, Illinois, for a Michigan-Illinois football game where it happened to be Red Grange Day at the stadium. I remember so many details about that day. At the time, Eric was a student at the University of Illinois, and we went to say hello to him at his frat house. I was a pretty young kid, so walking through a major college frat house was a totally new experience for me. People were partying before the game, drinking beer and blasting music. Eric walked us into one of the bedrooms and there was this sort of suspended/lofted bunk bed held up by chains that went up through the ceiling and roof before wrapping around the chimney. It was quite a setup. Oh, and my prepubescent self was mesmerized by some of the bikini-clad ladies found on the posters covering the bedroom walls. Can’t forget that.
Later in that trip, we went to dinner at someone’s house, and I, of course, was wearing my Michigan Wolverines hat. Eric and I got to talking about hats and we both agreed that we liked what my buddy Hammer and I always called, “comfy hats.” Comfy hats have more of a relaxed, slouched look that fits closer to one’s head. Nowadays, it’s popular to call them “dad hats.” Anyways, my Michigan hat had the mesh under the crown to give it more of a structured, high-top look. Eric told me that I could easily fix that by taking some scissors and just cutting the mesh out. As soon as I got home, I snuck into my bedroom, cut the mesh out, and improved the fit of my hat by at least a factor of four.
Another time, and I don’t even remember when or where this was, our whole family was out to eat at a restaurant. Eric came back to the table from the bathroom and made a comment about water all over the floor in the men’s room. He went on to explain that there was a guy cleaning the restroom who had never used a mop wringer before or something because he dipped the mop in water and then just spread the wet mop all over the floor until there was about an inch of water. The way Eric told the story while laughing his way through it was just hysterical. You probably had to be there, but I got a kick out of it.
Love the people in your life. All of them.