I spent the day in an avalanche of paperwork, once tentative approval was granted on our Florida mortgage loan. I wasted the morning on phone calls and e-mails, trying to locate ancient documents to satisfy the underwriters. Are they really undertakers? This was just the beginning of my frustrations. Downloading issues, waiting on hold for hours, and file compatibility problems presented additional hassles. The James Bond-athon continued in the background, but I had to watch the last few movies several times to gain an understanding. 

I couldn’t wait for Whiskey Happy Hour, the highlight of my day. A couple of sips of Angel’s Envy put me in a relaxed state of mind. The tension was first apparent when I saw the quicker times of my morning run and dealt the first few attempts to get requested documents. There was no time for my traditional morning writing and the relaxation associated with this routine accomplishment. I was as tense as I’ve ever been in retirement. The hassles of paperwork were mounting. 

Our dryer broke down but we were given access to a vacant apartment to finish our laundry. This is the beauty of not owning, but the mound of paperwork was all because we wanted our own place. In future years, if a appliance breaks down, we’ll have to pay to get it fixed. Today, however, it was just a matter of walking down the hall until a repairman is available. All this hassle with paperwork is just so we can take the responsibility of owning once again. When the dryer, pool, or internet breaks down in Florida, who are we gonna call? It won’t be maintenance! How much more paperwork will I have to endure?