I am having a two dwarf morning -- I am Sleepy and Grumpy.
It is an old joke. And, for me, this morning, not entirely accurate.
Because Heigh-Ho/Heigh-Ho/It's off to work I go.
This is the first day of my six-month return to my old job. My primary goal is to train my successor, and that should be a rather easy task. He is intelligent and more than willing to speak truth to power -- something every good attorney (at least, those who take their role as counselor seriously) needs to do.
It will be interesting to see how many of my habits I acquired in Mexico will follow me north.
The first to die will be my siesta. I will miss it. But, in our environmentally-controlled building, I will not need to worry about the somnolent effect of the afternoon heat. But the opportunity to recharge my brain in the afternoon will be a distinct handicap.
Then there is the issue of time.
Some friends were trying to arrange a meeting with me about work last week. I told them I would stop by sometime after I finished my blood tests. They asked when will that be? I said somewhere between 9 and noon, I guess. That would be the range I would use at home in Mexico if I had a medical appointment.
That response did not elicit the type of nonchalant shrugs I receive from friends in Melaque. My work colleagues asked if I could be a bit more specific.
The request initially struck me as being a bit obsessive -- until I remembered I am in the land of clocks, not my home: a country that has forgotten time.
I will probably adjust to that one quickly. After all, my old life lived by the clock.
Adjusting is not going to be a problem. The problem may be the cost of adjusting.
I saw my doctor last week for a catchup appointment. The first thing he did was check my blood pressure. It was perfect. Admittedly, i am still on medication -- but a rather mild dosage.
I would hate to see it sky-rocket again.
One of the major factors I used to retire at 60, rather than 65, was health. In one weekend, Tim Russert died, my brother had a medical incident, and a friend's father had a major heart attack. I had also noted that the obituaries in our local bar bulletin contained the names of attorneys -- over half of whom were younger than I was at the time.
I did not need to understand Einstein's Theory of Relativity to know that it was time for me to retire -- while I was at the top of my profession and still breathing.
So, I return -- knowing that who I have become in Mexico will need to go on hold, but only for a limited time.
But the bottom line is I thoroughly enjoy the work I will be doing. Like the dwarfs:
"We dig dig dig dig dig dig dig in a mine the whole day through/
To dig dig dig dig dig dig dig is what we like to do."
