Party animal that I am, (friends will know immediately how unlikely that description is) I had two events last night. The first was a farewell to someone I worked with at The Home Depot, a smart, funny young girl who orchestrated the memory book the team gave me when I retired. The next event was a girls’ dinner – seven of us who are neighbors and two who have since moved. Do you know what an accomplishment it is to get nine gals together for dinner with not one bowing out at the last minute? At the first event, someone asked me if I had updated my blog recently. Nope! I must try to do better. It’s not that nothing exciting happens any more, it’s just that I don’t carve out time in a week to focus on writing. I’m too busy playing the piano – yes, really. I practice every day and my piano teacher, Nancy, comes every two weeks. I’ve graduated from Puff the Magic Dragon to Do-Re-Mi with both hands and sometimes as many as THREE notes at the same time on one hand. Thats big! Nancy says I won’t be ready for Carnegie Hall next year, but perhaps the following one.
Most of our lives are defined by milestones. Mine certainly falls into the pre- and post-Big R. It was wonderful to see my pre-Big R friends last night. I always feel like a rock star! Several new faces have joined the team and I love hearing what everyone is up to in their personal lives – new homes, relationships, even babies. It’s also fun to meet people who don’t know how important I used to be! And now I have a new group of friends – post-Big R friends, who I wouldn’t have met if I was still working every day. We share different priorities and everyone has a story to tell.
I have to admit, I did wake up with a faint hangover this morning. But what a joy to be able to turn over and sleep for another couple of hours. I’m now well into my second year of retirement and I’ve made some changes. I’ve stopped reading the newspaper every day. If Cedric thinks there’s something I’ll be interested in, he cuts the article out – my personal press cutting service. I also limit reading the news online and have banished my iPhone from the bedside table to the kitchen. I used to check email and news first thing in the morning with my coffee while still in bed. When I read that on average, Americans touch their cell phones 2,000 times a day, I knew it was time for a change. One suggestion from that article recommended buying an old fashioned alarm clock and that’s exactly what we did. Now, if I want to know the time when I wake up, I can see a lovely clock face with hands, the little hand on one number and the big hand on another. It has an alarm setting and although I know for working people that’s probably not accurate enough, it’s perfect for retirees like me when every day is Sunday.
The hummingbirds are back, too. We were worried for a while but I think the cold, wet spring confused them. Gotta go, this party animal is meeting a friend for lunch!
Retirement-Rumbles 