Disagreements and a Daunting Challenge

Keith, Tracee, Jerry, Jackie, Stephanie, and Ryan met at Mom's townhome Sunday morning to sort through her belongings and take to Goodwill anything they couldn't find a home for. It was a huge undertaking. There's still a considerable amount of stuff to go through but they made a lot of progress. Keith intends to replace some light fixtures and possibly the countertops before having her home listed.

All of this hasn't been without some family strife. My youngest brother who has lived with our mom for the past six years is insisting that it's just a matter of time before she will be returning home and that we're all jumping the gun. He's also of the belief that there was never a need for her to have left her home in the first place. I can't disagree more and every other one of my siblings feels the same way. It's been very frustrating as we try to do this in a way that is free of drama and free of stress for Mom. Tim continuing to encourage her that she'll be coming home soon is detrimental to her mental and physical health. She so wants to believe him and becomes agitated with the rest of us when his promises don't come to fruition.

I'm not violating any family trust by mentioning this here as Tim has taken to Facebook to plead his case among his friends while stating that we're all adult children of alcoholic parents and very dysfunctional. I love my brother. I just want him to stop with his agenda and offer us a hand.

I went with Rachel to an informational meeting at St Kate's in St Paul on Tuesday night. We were there for a couple hours listening to the philosophy behind the school's graduate programs. Most of the evening was spent within a smaller group going over in detail their Masters of Physician Assistant Studies program.

Just getting selected to attend the school is daunting. The application process for their MPAS program is open until the end of September and they already have nearly 500 applicants.
Who knows what the final number will be but of the hundreds of applicants, only 100 will be called in for an interview and of those 100 only 32 will be selected for a seat in their next class. This is fairly typical of any school she applies for. It's very competitive.

We strolled around the campus on our way back to the car and took in some of the sights. It's a picturesque setting.

I'm enjoying one of my riding loops much more than any of the others I do: my loop to Murphy Hanrehan and the mountain bike trails they have there. It's only 21 miles (6 miles to the trail-head with 9 miles of trails then a 6-mile return) of riding but I have so much fun out there. I'm getting more comfortable with my Shaman and that translates to quicker times through the trails. I don't know how much faster I can get without taking too many risks but I'm enjoying trying. The biggest thing to learn is when to let my speed run vs reigning it in. I actually get a little anxious before going on the ride because I know I'll be challenged in ways my road bike can't.

My Timehop reminded me of my last double century ride I did 4 years ago today and it has me wondering if I'll ever do another. I'd like to think I will but I can't be certain. It may be a worthy goal in retirement. Until then, I'll have video from that ride 4 years ago to remind myself what I'm in for should I ever decide to get that crazy again.

This video is a little raw compared to some of my more recent offerings but I still like it.