Here’s some news I’ve yet to share. Just down the road from me, they’re building a multi-unit apartment complex. It’s one piece of property over. I can hear the construction vehicles constantly. Lot’s of backing up beeps and the low rumble of earth movers. On the one hand, it’s good for Johnson City. We need affordable housing. On the other hand, a piece of undeveloped land is leaving the rolls. And I see a stoplight in my future, because there will be a lot of vehicles in an out of that property.

All the construction has definitely chased the deer away. Luckily, for them, there are still deep woods around and given the choice they’ll stay there. Of course, you can go to any hillside community in the greater Austin area and see how well the deer can adapt to urbanization. They do it well and it’s why we can’t have nice things when it comes to plants. I think we’ve still got time before that little plague hits around here. But deer breed. No one hunts them. They get smaller and make do. Survival.

On the personal front, I’m having good luck with my Christmas shopping. I’ve discovered a fair number of gifts that feel personal in nature and not just a rote something that checks a box. Of course, you never know until the big day how the gift will go over. I’ve had gifts that felt exciting, but merely elicited a yawn. Still, I feel good with my effort and for the first time in several years there’s the feeling of a warm embrace to this year’s Christmas celebration. Alleluia!

John W. Wilson is the author of The Long Goodbye: A Caregiver's Tale