Ever just pull out the wine in the middle of the day? Not when you’re at work though. Unless it’s celebrating some event with the teachers in the school, where I worked in Spain. Wine during a school day… Some cultures have all the fun.

Yup, it’s a whining day and so I will wine today.

Why whine? Lots of reasons.  Being a re-pat for one, transitioning to returning to your home country after living abroad. I know those who have done it, and we all feel very similar.

I have to admit it’s been 14 months, and it feels like an eternity.  That being said, I have had to teach myself to learn to meditate since moving home. Not really, but it’s a good idea.

Driving to work on the busy highway to my 8-hour-a-day job which is actually a 10-hour-a-day job without lunch mind you, will make you whine. Why can’t we work 6-hour days and get a two-hour lunch? Says every American who ever lived in many European countries and comes back to the high-stress life we Americans live. If I could stop, eat a real lunch have a glass of wine then take a nap Ide be a lot happier, but alas not us…

I had someone ask me once “Why would you leave heaven? Meaning the USA when I moved to Spain. Well, define Heaven.  This person came from a Latin country and worked 9-3 and got an hour lunch so he only really works 5 hours a day. We are on the job for 9 hours with a 1-hour lunch God forbid you put in less than 8 hours a day. And most of us eat at our desks or like me who drives all day. I often end up eating peanuts I keep in the car.

So who lives in heaven? You do I said, “But you make more money,” he said. Yes, but we pay for it, our lives are shorter, with more stress-related diseases and we drink too much. Ide say the devil has more to do with it than heaven.

So today is a whine day, I’m reminiscing about the slower life of working so much less, taking a 3-hour siesta in the middle of the day, and eating tapas and wine for next to nothing. Although I did gain some weight with that life…

Well, today I’ll make a steak, something I didn’t get in Spain that was not overcooked or raw. So, I counteract the whining with some wine and a meal I did miss when away. A nice ribeye. And a nice chardonnay that costs five times a bottle of Alberino from Spain. Oh well.

Who’s F**ing idea was it? I don’t know, but the wine will fix it. For now.

Wine a little, you’ll feel better.

Somewhere in Texas, the land of Beef.