Bumps in the road

By  Glenn Wintemberg
We all run  into bumps in our life road. Some may cause severe damage to our spiritual or  physical chassis; others are only annoying, and some are amusing. They are usually  surprises.
        I  recently encountered a two life bumps.
        First,  my 87-year-old mother has been dealing with dementia/Alzheimer's for a few  years.
        Second,  on June 30th I retired from the Parkway School District after 33.2 years of  maintaining HVAC equipment and serving as the lead man of the HVAC/Plumbing Departments  for the last 12 years.
        At  the beginning of March, Parkway made their employees a Godfather offer that was  difficult to refuse. They offered a retirement package that included the  three-year payment of our medical, dental and vision insurance.
        At  56 years young, they only gave me the month of March to make a decision that  would affect the rest of my life. As you can imagine I had to answer a lot of  questions about what I was going to do when I retired. I knew that I would be  spending more time with my mother and catching up on 28 years of deferred  maintenance at the house.
        With  one month in retirement under my belt, I find myself spending five days a week  at Mom's house providing companionship and making sure she is eating and taking  her pills. I enjoy the opportunity to spend more time with my mom and am  blessed that retirement allows me to do that.
        There  are times in our lives when we all need someone in whom we can confide when we  encounter surprise bumps in life. One of those questions we have asked men is:  "Do you have another man that you can call a close friend — A man that knows  you inside and out?"
        There  are men throughout out our denomination that have encountered a few bumps in  the road. Today presents an opportunity for us to help repair the damages.

Glenn Wintemberg, vice  president
General Commission on  United Methodist Men
unitvent@yahoo.com