Sunday, August 10, 2025 – Day 362

Sunday, August 10, 2025

Good morning, friends.

I woke up today with body aches, a headache, and a runny nose. Hopefully it’s just a 24-hour bug…don’t need or want this traveling to my lungs.

Yesterday, Cindy and I celebrated our 20th anniversary at Cooper’s Hawk. It’s been months since it was just the two of us across a table—no friends, no family, no grandkids climbing on us—just us. The meal was wonderful, but the real gift was the time to sit back and talk about what we’ve built together.

The first decade of marriage was mostly long-distance. In 2004, when IMC merged with Cargill to form Mosaic, I started commuting to Florida. That “two-year” assignment lasted until 2015, when Mosaic asked me to move there full-time. I chose retirement instead—March 17, 2015.

That’s when the real adjustment began: living together full-time, every single day. Cindy retired less than a week later, so suddenly we went from weekends together to all the time together. And you know what? It worked. Those years gave me chances to try things I’d never would have otherwise, the big one being farming. Thank you, Cheri, Ron, Dave, and Terry, for the chance to farm and live out a childhood dream.

Our talk naturally drifted to what’s ahead. Next up is Alex and Nicole’s wedding in September. I think my ALS will be manageable enough that the spotlight stays where it belongs—on them. After that?

Well… we’ve been invited to St. Maarten in late November with Zack’s family. The sun, the sand, the grandkids—I’d love to be there. The question is, will my body cooperate?

In just over three months, I probably won’t be walking much or maybe not at all. If I’m lucky, I might shuffle a few steps with a walker, but most of my time will be in a wheelchair.

That raises a big question: how do you do a beach vacation in a wheelchair? I’ve already pictured myself sinking into the sand and struggling to get through it, waving for help while Zack and his Dad debate whether to pull me out or just have Wyatt and Coco build a sand castle around me. Or maybe they could just strap me to a boogie board and tow me up and down the shore—instant beach mobility and entertainment for the grandkids. A good repeat from Minocqua.

For now, we’re keeping our focus on the wedding. Once that’s behind us, we’ll see where I stand—literally and figuratively. In all seriousness…St Maarten will be a difficult decision.

The evening ended with dessert—house-made truffles and what I thought was vanilla ice cream. I told Cindy she could have the truffles, and I dug into the “ice cream”… only to find out it was whipped cream. What a dummy! Since I had a big dollop of whipped cream in my mouth, I ended up sneaking a bite of truffle, but I stopped there. Dessert is Cindy’s lane, not mine.

We were home early. Cindy had been sniffly all day, and by dinner my aches were starting. I tossed and turned most of the night, but right now I don’t feel too bad. Hopefully this cold, or whatever it is, will be short-lived. Fingers crossed. 🤞

Have a great Sunday—and maybe keep your hugs virtual today.

Love you guys! ❤️