Route 66 – March 21 to March 27

Here we are today, continuing along Route 66. There are a number of interesting things to share and I hope you find reading through this blog post an enjoyable way to spend some time.

March 23, 2026

Today is what Denise and I call Emma’s Special Day. It is the anniversary date of when we adopted Emma and brought her home to become a forever family. We celebrated this day like we did her August birthday every year with presents, a special meal, and cake. Emma loved it too, since it meant another day for presents. Denise and I loved it because it was reminder of how lucky we were to receive the gift she was. After Emma had children, she decided that we didn’t need to continue this celebration, so we could save the expense of the event. Even though we don’t celebrate it the same way any longer, we always take time to remember and to make contact to share the love and the memory of this most special day. Just today, Emma was rethinking the wisdom of giving up the celebration as was done in the past. She freely admitted that she misses the presents. 👍😊

Miracle of miracles…. A week or so ago, Denise and I took our income tax documents to a fellow that had been recommended by my mom’s finance person. The new income tax person is a retired CPA and a very nice fellow who is doing tax returns for a small number of people. He seems like a lovely old fellow. In case you were wondering, we looked for someone new because the fees at our last accounting firm were getting so high. The new fellow’s fees are half what the last firm charged – a good thing in our books.

When the new fellow first prepared our returns, doing the usual pension splitting and what not, the result was quite disappointing. I knew going in that the results would be different than it has been, since I started to get Old Age Security and a small annuity starting in 2025. The difference, however, was heartbreaking. Typically, I would get a refund of around $2000 and Denise would pay about $300. From our joint banking that is an overall refund of about $1700. Pay the old account fee of $500+ and the net left about $1200. With the new guy, he first stated that I would get a refund just under $1800, but Denise would have to pay $3000, leaving a joint balance due of $1200. I know it doesn’t sound like a lot to many people, but it is to Denise and I. We were supposed to meet the new fellow to sign the returns last week, but on the day, just before we left to go to his place, he telephoned to cancel. He didn’t say why, and I just assumed something important had come up. At any rate, he telephoned the next day and said that he had been comparing our 2024 tax return again with the one he just did and realized that he had missed a significant disability deduction amount that Denise has been able to claim for many years. Once he realized this and recalculated, he was pleased to tell us that I would get a refund of just over $1700, and Denise would get a refund of $40. Both Denise and I thought this a miracle and were/are so grateful. The new fellow’s rate was $255 for both of us. Whoo-hoo!

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Lesson 2 of the Online Therapy Unit arrived today. It asks that I take two weeks to work through the material as there is lots to absorb. I made my way through the first file, a PowerPoint presentation of some length. The aim of this lesson is to learn how to start overcoming what they call thought symptoms of anxiety, stress, worry, low mood and depression. It was interesting to note that 1 in 4 Canadians experience clinical anxiety and depression each year. That is a lot, but I am not surprised due to the load we carry in modern society.

Do you remember the Man with Heavy Load image I had AI create for my blog post called A Heavy Load? Check out the blog post if you want clarification about my last sentence in the paragraph above.

Man with Heavy Load – AI Generated – DALL·E 2024-12-23 17.33.22

Below are some thoughts I had while reading through the first part of lesson 2.

One of the best things I learned in recovery, early in Al-Anon, is that I was not so alien after all. Every other person in the meetings has struggles and issues of their own, some even similar to mine. It’s not so much that misery loves company, but the knowledge that I am not the oddball out here on this planet called Earth. It was very freeing to learn and feel this truth, it still is. This works the same as reading and thinking about the shared stories in the OTU worksheets – sharing experience, strength, and hope.

Thinking about how this course is only eight weeks long, I wonder what the program will suggest at the end to help keep people engaged in their recovery. This program is definitely a good start and one should take it one day at a time. I know from my own experience that this recovery business is a lifelong adventure. This original question is rhetorical, since I will see at the end how it does this.

As a side note, I remember the numerous times in Al-Anon when I have been able to counsel newcomers in crisis. Providing comfort and a listening ear I could see them step back from the edge and feel that there might be hope after all. I would usually explain too that the next day would be the hardest, because they will have come down from the high of this reprieve, and they will need to be strong to continue to take steps forward. Back in their world, nothing will have changed yet, and it will require effort to make positive steps, one moment at a time. And, to remember that help is only a phone call or meeting away. So often, some of these folks who feel this momentary reprieve don’t come back for a while since they feel that they got through the crisis. In a way, it is like the schizophrenic who stops taking his/her pills because he/she feels better, only to head back into the severe mental health issue of the disorder.

Most of the Thought Challenges mentioned in the material, maybe all, could be looked at as slogans. Maybe a person could make flash cards for themselves after the initial course to help in the future. 👍😊 Without a constant source to encourage continued growth, it is far too easy to slip back into old patterns – at least that is what I think. I guess that the self-directed questions listed on page 35 are much like flash cards.

Re: Positive Thinking as mentioned in the material. Although not the same, I remember telling my doctor long ago how I was feeling at one time when I was quite low. She actually replied with, “that’s defeatist.” I couldn’t believe that this came out of her mouth as she had always been so welcoming and non-judgmental. Of course, I never confided anything so vulnerable with her again, except for lately when we talked about depression. Perhaps she was having issues of her own that one negative time. It did, however, make me consider from then on what is safe to say to her.

I enjoy seeing the experiences of others in the materials – in this case sharing their thought challenging self-talk. I find this similar to what I do – awareness, daily inventory, positive self-talk, use of slogans, etc. It is a step toward taking charge of how I will react or move forward.

March 24, 2026

Do you remember me telling you about my car accident in an earlier blog post? Well, today at 9 AM I dropped my car off at the body shop and was then transported to Enterprise Rent-A-Car to pick up my loaner for the duration of the repairs. *Note that I was “driven” to Enterprise Rent-A-Car, but I thought “transported” was a better word. 👍😊 My friend Mike will catch this use of terminology since he is a fan of Star Trek: TNG, like I am. Truthfully, it was a happy coincidence, since I only saw this after I had written the sentence about being transported to Enterprise Rent-A-Car. Too funny! LOL!

While at Enterprise Rent-A-Car, I was offered a choice of vehicles. I can’t remember all of them, but one was a pickup truck, a huge 2026 Dodge Ram 4X4 – something that can be considered a monster truck in my opinion. I have always loved trucks and as far back as I can remember now, I have missed owning one.

2026 Dodge Ram 4×4 – Photo by Don Cheke

I told the fellow at the counter not to watch me try to get in, since that might prove embarrassing, but I was determined. I got in and out of the truck a few times during the day and I laughed each time how hard it was to hoist myself up and in. Picture the opposite of me trying to get down into a clown car, or an Austin Mini. I also thought that Denise might not be able to climb in if the need arose, and certainly not my mother. Very impractical!

The truck itself was beautiful in that new-vehicle kind of way. It had some options that my Kia Sorento doesn’t, but others that I like on my Sorento were missing on the truck. On the morning of March 25^th, after a night of blowing snow, I wondered how on earth I would brush the snow off the hood and the front window. There is no snow brush in the truck, and I couldn’t reach if I tried. My jumping days are long since over, and I don’t think I can lift Denise onto my shoulders to extend the reach. That is a nice mental visual, however, if I can say so myself. 👍😊

I knew that driving the new vehicle would stir those “I want a new vehicle” emotions, but alas, finances will not allow for that. I must say the ride in the truck is much smoother than it is in the Sorento – way smoother. I have always hated the ride in the Sorento but got used to it since there was no choice, but this recent reminder – what can I say! When summer arrives, I will get my Sorento detailed, which always makes it feel new again – and truthfully, I love my Sorento quite a bit!

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Something a bit different. Today I watched two geese on the ice pond across the street. Gosh they looked funny, hopping and running around in a panic looking for the water. I tried to take a video, it was so funny, but alas, the video didn’t work. I had Denise come and look, and she offered the dialog that she knew was going on between the geese. “I told you it was to early to come back!” “Just give me a minute, there must be some water here – and no, I don’t need to stop and ask someone, and no, I don’t need a map!” LOL!

Geese on Ice – Photo by Don Cheke

March 25, 2026

Today, I started to write this blog post and had much fun doing so.

I also I received a phone call from the auto body shop saying that they found no additional damage under the bumper, so they were moving on to reassembly (new bumper) and painting, and that it would be ready Thursday or Friday. Yippee!

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I created a new feature “diner” image last week but hated how it looked. I tried a number of versions with no improvement. This week I created a new exterior and used a different color scheme. Although I am mostly happy with the results, I thought many times that I should ask my interior designer brother-in-law to suggest something. Just now I had to scratch my head, as this is something I have never thought about – is my brother’s husband my brother-in-law? I think so, yes, since my other brother’s wife was my sister-in-law. Do I have that right? Weird, I should ask my granddaughter Olivia, as she has already learned all these family connection terms. LOL!

Note that I 3D modeled the building but snagged the interior furnishings from a free 3D model repository called SketchUp 3D Warehouse, which saved me the modeling time.

DeeDee’s Diner 2026 – Modeled & Rendered by Don Cheke

Wouldn’t you love to visit DeeDee’s Diner along Route 66 – or even better – Route Saskatoon. If you could see inside you would note that seating consists of counter stools and booths, both of which are not fat-friendly, as I call it. I’ll have to talk to the owner about losing the booths and replacing them with fat-friendly tables and chairs. One of these days, I’m going to design a booth with a table that can be resized to easily accommodate us larger folk. I have some ideas! 👍😊

March 26, 2025

Thursdays are the day I am supposed to hear back from my online therapist, so I was a bit disappointed when she didn’t email or phone. Perhaps she was off sick. I tried not to think negatively about this or blame myself for inundating her with my long messages through the week, but I could feel some of the old “what’s wrong with me” tapes start to play – if only enough to feel their distant sirens.

I found the process of working through the materials quite exciting and I wanted to share everything I read and thought about with the therapist, some of which you know I shared in blog posts. Part of me wonders if I was secretly hoping for an “atta-boy” from her and the lack of response felt dismissive, or something similar.

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Kavia telephoned this morning and said that my car would be ready for pickup at 1:30. I asked Denise to come along for the ride and, holy moly, did she ever have a struggle getting up into the truck. As you guessed, no new pickup truck for us in the future. 😊 Hopping back into the Sorento felt like coming home – I felt giddy with joy and proclaimed my love to my car (SUV). 💖 Denise liked it too!

March 27, 2026

I spent most of the day working through lesson 2 material and will share some of that in the next blog post. I must say that since I started the OTU course, I have been upbeat and have been able to control my anger. This is so typical of me – that is why I have come to realize for years now how important it is for me to keep busy with creativity and recovery so that I don’t slip back into depression or stinking thinking. Having to work at it every day seems excessive at times, and I don’t always want to, but these recent therapeutic sessions just confirm that it does, indeed, require daily effort on my part.

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I hope that you are enjoying this continuing look into my mind – hopefully finding something that resonates with your own journey and provides things to think about.

Donald B. Cheke – Saskatoon, SK