There’s a simple reason I don’t celebrate many holidays. After I stopped believing in Santa Claus, most holidays always left me feeling like “this was supposed to be more fun”.
Author: Steve Ainslie
20,000 Cups Of Coffee – A Love Story
For 29 years, I made coffee every single morning. By my count, I brewed more than 10,500 pots of coffee. Here’s the thing though – I don’t drink coffee and never have. I made the coffee for my wife.
No More NextDoor
The only social media platform I use regularly is NextDoor. When I first heard of it back in 2012, it sounded like the digital version of a neighborhood bulletin board. It made me think of the board we used to have near the exit door of the local grocery store. There you would find index…
Buying Pride For $3.88
I flipped the with on my recessed kitchen light and nothing happened. I grabbed my step ladder, removed the bulb and replaced it with another. I needed to replace the old flood lamp with an LED bulb anyway. Then I flipped the switch and nothing happened. Shoot. I have a second recessed light in my upstairs…
Clean Break
I got rid of everything after my wife died. I sold my house. I gave away all of our belongings. I sold our cars. Then I put everything left into a pickup truck and 6x8ft camper and drove out West to live in the middle of nowhere on public lands. Two months later, I drove…
As Comfortable As Dave Chappelle
On the Joe Rogan podcast last week, Joe asked Dave Chappelle if anyone gave him a hard time about putting on his socially distanced comedy shows in Yellow Knife during the 2020 pandemic. Dave said, “Nope”. Then he added, “Even if they did, why would I give a shit?”
You Can’t Be My Friend Anymore
I’ve got a friend I’ve known for 20 years. For most of those years, I checked in with him every few months to see how he was doing and to keep in touch. Several years ago, I was complaining to my wife about my seemingly one-sided friendship and she said, “In the past 15 years, how…
Stop Asking Yourself If You’re Happy
Fifteen years ago, I called my mentor one morning to discuss a dilemma. I said, “Jim, I don’t understand it. I’m unemployed with no good job prospects and growing debt. My wife is sick all of the time from her year long treatment. We won’t even know we if it’s effective until it’s over. My mother is living with us while recovering…
My Wife’s Birthday
I’m not one who keeps track of things like anniversaries, birthdays and holidays. Generally I pay no attention to them. I could care less about my birthday. I prefer normal days to holidays. But my wife’s birthday will forever be seared into my memory. I loved her. It was an important day for her. So…
I Love Not Being On The Road
My life continues to be consistently fantastic. I wake at 4:45AM, feed and walk the dogs in the predawn hours and then workout for the rest of the morning. I swim every afternoon. I walk Wiggles several times a day