We hosted a dozen people for Thanksgiving. It turned out well. The notable absence was my mother-in-law who has been in constant pian

She’d been contemplating a medical procedure for some time: a stent to address constant, severe pain. Her heart and breathing aren't strong enough to make her an ideal candidate. For her the pain outweighed the risk.

The procedure happened on Friday and didn't go as planned. They couldn’t place the stent and she required emergency surgery to restore proper blood flow. It was a terrifying few hours. 

She is stable now. We're picking her up to take her home while the surgeon and doctor consult. They plan to try a slightly different approach in a few days.

What of my job?

Over the past few months, a new company president and executive churn has made something clear-- my business org, while valuable, is no longer a strategic area of investment. My job then changes. I can either align with the new plan, or fight for every dollar while my org is nickel and dimed to death.  I'm not interested in these discussions. At heart, I'm an engineer who is good at getting others to work together. My career grew from that core. I have never had a passion to debate budgets and corporate strategies. 

I've decided I'm leaving after the midterm elections next year. Maybe it's a retirement. Maybe it's some time off before I transition to something else.

With that decision made, my interest in my job has dropped. I'm still doing the day-to-day tasks. But I've stopped seeking out and participating in the larger discussions. What's left of the work swings between boredom and stress. 

I'm wondering if the executives will even notice? The executive churn has caused the executives to disengage. As long as the revenue keeps coming in and unless there is an emergency, they may not even be aware. There are fires elsewhere in the company and it's sucking up their time. 

I've been up to a mish mash of things.

Babysitting-- I babysat Baby O for a few hours. I'm a 55yo man, and this is the first time I've babysat an infant in my life. Huff showed me the basics and promised me that as long as I didn't injure Baby O, then nothing would go wrong. She warned me that baby's are fussy and change what they want every ten minutes. You just have to roll with it. 

It went well. Baby O was fussy at times. Other times she slept. Other times she smiled, or cried, or giggled. 

Lasagna-- An acquainted once shared with me that she had hosted a lasagna party. She provided all the ingredients. Her friends all made lasagna's together to take home. For unknown reasons I thought it would be fun to try. We invited some of my husband's AA friends, including those on SNAP benefits. More people accepted than originally planned.

I made the noodles and sauces from scratch. That ended up being a full day's work that finished just before the guests arrived.

The Lasagnas turned out very well.

And Work-- I am bored at work. My challenge is to keep all the parts moving-- to keep all the balls in the air. Every now and then I have to arbitrate a priority issue, or navigate personality conflicts. This is all more stress than challenge. 

Last week was uneventful. My husband traveled to Alaska for aa few days of work. I held down the fort, so to speak.

Seattle has turned to its traditional fall weather. Gloomy, a bit of rain and dark by 5pm. I had C2 over for dinner on Saturday and vented about how the early dark made him feel like it was midnight, even though it was only 7pm.

Sunday morning we had coffee with the neighbors. I enjoy this. They are also corporate professionals in a similar life situation-- planning to retire in the next few years, with aging family that needs care. 

Sunday afternoon we put up the Christmas tree. It's our way of fighting back against the gloom. My husband loves this activity. I have to restrain my commentary when he decorates. For days before we put up the tree, little boxes of Christmas decor will arrive daily from Amazon. My first reaction is that we don't need more Christ junk decor. Then I remind myself that we aren't in debt and we are saving well. So why not spend a little on this. 

Sunday evening we had a nice dinner at a local restaurant. This restaurant has poor cell phone reception, so it forces us to put our devices down and actually talk to each other.

My mother-in-law is a Halloween baby, so we treated her to dinner at a fondue restaurant for her birthday. It was fun, though I'm not sure I'd rush to do it again.

Saturday marked the 70th birthday of a family friend, and we attended her party in the afternoon.

In the early evening, we had dinner with Allen and Evan. We hadn't seen them in a few weeks, and it was good to catch up.

Work-wise, I'm feeling a bit frustrated. Our organization isn't part of the company's strategic growth plan, so I find myself fighting tooth and nail just to keep our current team intact. My job can be tough even under the best circumstances, so I'm definitely not eager to stretch our headcount and budget even further.