A Life of Leisure - The Skinny

I left my job yesterday for the last time. The first time that I can remember doing so that didn't involve a better job, arrest, lawsuit or slander. I am embarking on a new adventure - moving to Mexico, where my wife happens to reside.

We met in Chicago over ten years ago and have been married for seven years, for most of which she has lived in Mexico, caring for her elderly, ailing parents. Now that both have passed away, it was time to either lay a steamer or abandon the throne, as my mother - bless her heart - always used to say.

My wife had been in our country without official legal permission, so when word came that her mother was very sick, a decision had to be made. In early 2006, I drove her across the border, to the land of her birth and took her to the Hermosillo airport, from where she flew to her hometown of Uruapan, which she hadn't seen in 17 years. There she has remained, thanks to the failing health of her parents and compounded by the

fact that I lived paycheck to paycheck and could never quite afford the ever-increasing cost of filing and following up on the ream of paperwork needed to bring her back in a legal, above-board fashion.

Now, the time has come to finally submit the last of the paperwork and I respectfully (except for the fart machine part) resigned my position at the Anonymous Fortune 500 company to travel South to spend the intervening time with her while we wait for the rusty wheels of bureaucracy to slowly grind their way to a rubber-stamped permit to travel freely between the two countries.

I have found on my trips to Uruapan that it is a delightful place with an almost tropical beauty. The Eduardo Ruiz National Park built around the river Cupatitzio showcases a couple of beautiful waterfalls and man-made fountains. Uruapan is also known as the avocado-growing capital of Mexico and my wife's family owns a "ranch" where avocados are grown.

Juana at the ranch...

Anyhow, that's where I'm going at the beginning of October and the reason why I'm making the trip. Until the departure, I am hard at work packing up things to put into storage and making sure that the now 5 young adults, 5 cats, two hedgehogs and one fancy-rat have been moved into their apartments and furnished with utensils for day to day living, most being of course pirated from my own belongings.

I would prefer, if time allows, to spend these last afternoons in Phoenix lounging in the hammock by the pool, strumming the 12-string and enjoying a cool, refreshing beverage, with perhaps a baseball game playing softly on the radio in the background. Perhaps I might get up early and work one of the two novels I need to finish or a blog or something equally productive. But there will also be boxes - lots of boxes. And phone calls tying up loose ends and visits with the immigration lady. And exercise - I need to exercise every day. No more excuses - bad back, sore foot and no time no longer need apply.

All in all, my new "life of leisure" shows some promise and I look forward to enjoying the new adventure. Starting today, please.