This retirement thing is kind of nice

Reflections on Retirement

A lot of people were worried when I mentioned retirement two years ago, and the most common question I was asked was "what will you do when you are retired?" While I really didn't know what retirement would look like, I was not worried that I would have nothing to do. Now with almost 2 months in, the truth is time flies by every day, but I am getting things done that I have put off for years.

The key difference is TIME! I am no longer living tied to a calendar. I have been home the most consecutive nights since 30 years ago when I took maternity leave--and then I didn't have a lot of free time. I have to say, it is really nice. Having said that, I am off tomorrow to Phoenix for a little R & R with a friend. My poor dog Petals has been beside herself all afternoon when the suitcase came out!

She likes having me home too.

The home plan is to organize every room. So far the office is done, my closet is done and I am halfway through the spare bedroom. I have also started on the garage. So far I have sent boxes of stuff to the Humane Society for their garage sale, and the Goodwill. I am going through boxes of pictures and if they aren't in focus or they are of buildings or plants, I am tossing them. I have so many digital images of plants that I would never use them. I am also starting the laborious task of scanning in photos and labeling them. That may take years to accomplish.

I am becoming a whiz at shopping and saving money. I have time to read the ads, plan what we need and save money in the process. My biggest savings was last week. I needed beef tenderloin for supper club and Valentine's day, plus lobster tails. Both were severely discounted at Kroger. Between that, my coupons and my (cringe) Senior discount ($13.42), I saved $157 --38% of the bill. Pretty sweet!

I swore after the first time I went shopping on a Tuesday that I would not be back. So many walkers, motorized carts and slow people, that I felt impeded, but I have soldiered on, because it does save me money, and I will be one of those people one day.

I officially joined AARP. I have been getting applications to join for over 20 years but decided to wait until I was officially a Retired Person. I have also started going to the gym!! I have been a member for over 3 years, but in name only--and monthly fees. I think I enjoyed having the 10 Fitness fob attached to my key chain, so people might assume I was going, but alas not. Now I am. I figured I would go around 9:30 or 10:00 a.m. assuming that all the working folks would be gone and I would have the gym to myself. The first day I went the parking lot was packed. I couldn't imagine. When I got inside it was filled with OLD PEOPLE! Then I realized, I was one of them. The inside had changed a great deal since the last time I was there! The first Saturday after I started going I was up early (as usual, that hasn't changed yet) so I decided I would go early to the gym, since working folks were probably sleeping in. I got there at 7:30 a.m. and the parking lot was empty--but so was the gym--even of staff; they don't open on the weekends until 8:00 a.m. Obviously, I am not up on the guidelines of the gym yet.

Besides realizing my new age group, I am also entertaining more than ever, and spending time with friends and family. I have watched the entire series of Downton Abbey as I cleaned out drawers. I have not read any more than before, because I still feel guilty sitting down to read (or watch tv) if I have things I can be doing, so I mostly read at night like I did before. I get around the tv guilt by doing something while I am watching--that doesn't work with reading.

I have been asked to join a few things, but I am putting that off until I have been into this retirement thing a bit longer. Of course, writing columns and the blog, and doing emails is still a big part of my life, and I am still helping with the State MG conference and the Arkansas Flower & Garden Show. That is the only place in Arkansas I am speaking this year, so come join me. The show will be March 1-3 at the Arkansas State Fairgrounds in Little Rock.

I thoroughly loved my job for all of the 38 plus years I had it, but I have to say, I am loving this retirement job just as much. It would be nice to have 38 years plus of this gig, but who knows. YOLO - You only live once, so enjoy every minute of it, regardless of what you are doing.

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