Gutts and the lack thereof

Since my sis and nieces moved away over the weekend, my nearest geographical relative is about a thousand miles away now. Angela has relatives in Austin, but for the most part we're on a little familyless island all by ourselves. Well, it's not really an island - it's more like a field where Frisco and Little Elm come together. We just got a Lowe's. That's what I would take with me if I ever were stranded on an island...the whole store.

Angela and I been blessed with great friends so we're not lonely, but it's odd for me especially, to come from a close family and not have any family around. Well, the dogs are family. But now Sophie is eating more slowly than usual and Marlee is acting like her gums hurt, so now I'm stressed that even though we have their teeth cleaned fairly regularly, they're getting gum disease and their teeth will fall out and we'll have to feed them little doggie smoothies every day. Family stresses me out.

Living far away from family never bothered me much before. I moved to Austin several years ago without knowing a soul and with only a part-time radio job lined up, and I didn't give that a second thought. I just wanted to get the heck out of the rural Midwest so I ordered an info packet from the Austin Chamber of Commerce, hopped on a plane two weeks later to go interview with a couple of radio stations and find an apartment, and a month later I moved, knowing only my new boss at the radio station (KASE 101), and a girl named April who helped me find an apartment. I had gutts back then. Or else I was so incredibly selfish I only thought about me, and now I'm an old softie whose innards have turned to jelly. Maybe I should eat more peanut butter to thicken them.

Okay then, this afternoon it's all about me. I'm going to work on other writing projects, work out for an hour, and flip back and forth between ESPN and NFL Network so I can make sure I'm full of football training camp knowledge. Family be danged I say. Me, me me. Right after I check the dogs' teeth again, email my sister, and pick up some mousse for Angela.