Day Four of Retirement (moving, spouse, support, restaurant)
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That puppy will keep you busy. And you'll have time to enjoy him.
I've found that birdbaths and small fountains provide considerable enjoyment for me and my cats. I've put them so we can watch them from inside. It's interesting to see the interaction between the different birds, who the bullies are, which ones sing, what they gather for nests (which get built in my pots).
One day, I had three hummingbirds all sipping from the small streams coming off a little fountain. Magical.
What a charming image--that deserves a rep point!
I've been enjoying watching the birds--and just nature, in general. It's nice to feel reconnected with the Earth. Maybe some day this will get boring, but right now I am very entertained just being part of the world.
Well, my first full week of retirement is almost complete. I wonder how the weekend will feel.
People tell me I must feel like I'm on vacation. Well, yes and no. Vacation has a distinctive feeling, because it's a limited time. Vacation is a time for having fun--you don't do housework, you don't do chores (at least that's how I did vacations).
In retirement, my time is my own, but instead of breaking from the routine I'm trying to establish a new routine. And, although this is also a time for having fun, I have to be budget conscience, which means being more creative in finding ways to have fun.
Today, my girlfriend and I are going shopping. She is looking for a new recliner, I am hoping to find new light fixtures for the house. We still have the same old 70's era fixtures put in by the builder. I'm sad that there are some "luxury" furniture/fixture stores going out of business, but I'm also hoping I can find a good deal at a liquidation sale. Now that we're retired, we have the time to drive all over the metro area and check every single store out before having to make a decision. It's a quest!
Yesterday was a sad day. As some of you know, my retirement came upon me suddenly becuase I needed timeoff to deal with grief. We went to Arlington National Cemetary yesterday--that was hard. Talked with the grief counselor--that seemed worthless but I'll give it a few more sessions before I give up on it. Also, I'm reading a wonderful book by C.S. Lewis called "A Grief Observed."
I'm glad to have the time I need to do some healing. It's healthy to have sad days like this but I don't think it's good to dwell on it for too long at a time--so today we go shopping for light fixtures. And we'll stop at McDonald's to see if the new coffee is really as good as Starbucks.
Yes, C.S. Lewis' book is very thoughtful and beautiful.
Maybe some vaguely zen philosophy for your "adjustment" to retirement-living as consciously in the present as you can. "Day at a time." Paying attention to the present, and allowing feelings and thoughts to just move on by and through you, without trying to make the past or future any different or more real. Be present.
As they say, simple, but not easy.
Thinking of you.
Checking in again. It's now week #2, and I'm getting used to my new life. I'm finally starting to sleep the whole night through (I had some problems with insomnia at first--changes in my life always seem to keep me awake.) I'm spending less and less time on the computer, more time reading. I've stopped answering the telephone completely, because the telemarketers are enough to drive me crazy. My friends know to leave a message!
I thought I would feel sad the first time I missed the chamber of commerce breakfast--but the day it occurred turned out to be a cold, damp morning and I enjoyed sleeping late. I didn't even realize I had missed the breakfast until later that day. My old "work life" seems to be fading away.
After the night I had at my job last night, and the unbelievable petty B.S. my co-workers and I got in the morning, I'd say I'd utterly look forward to the problems of retirement versus taking petty B.S. along with the very real work of my job. I'd leave smoke going out the door when the time comes.
Normie'
Wake up, wake up, it's only a dream pinch yourself.
LOL, I'm still waiting for the day when old work issues stop infiltrating my dreams. Then I'll really stretch out and sleep late!
You know you're really retired when your dreams are only about City-Data...
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