Act II

 You may or may not know that Southern Living has “The Grumpy Gardener,” a guy who writes a monthly Q&A gardening column, routinely shaming people for “Crepe Murder” or not deadheading their petunias as soon as the blooms begin to fade. Well, I am going to start a new monthly column called “The Cranky Concertgoer," in which I will offer no meaningful service to the public other than calling out bad concert behavior for us all to bemoan. Last weekend, I attended the Tears for Fears concert at the beautiful new Moody Center in Austin, TX. We had great floor seats, 16 th row in the middle, to be exact. If you’re a concert goer, you know that significant time, money, and effort go into attending a concert. There are expectations set that others attending the concert hold the same sanctity of the experience in high regard. But sadly, that isn’t always the case. As we took our seats, I sized up my neighbors to see what we’d be dealing with for the night. To my right, I had...

 As I complete my third slowly-paced lap around the yard, I swat yet another blood-sucking mosquito from my ankles and wonder why we never installed one of those fancy mosquito misting systems. This is what I do when I’m restless, I piddle around the backyard, inspecting the flowerbeds and cursing the weeds that eternally spring up no matter how often I rip out their roots. The last of the sun drops down into the patch of sky visible through the canopy of trees in my neighbor’s yard to the west. I love watching sunsets. It’s one of the only times that I feel a moment’s peace in my mind. Especially these days. I don’t know whether it’s the menopause to blame or the fact that our household is about to drastically change with our daughter leaving for college, but I can’t find comfort or rest in too many places. Most of my friends are about to be empty nesters, and I’ve been telling them for months how wonderful it will be for them to be able to focus on their own interests & h...