Saturday, June 25, 2022

Finally retired.

 I retired back in January. We were basically doing contract work for the employer. They wanted to make our positions permanent. I was ready to be done with them. Tim's plant was closing, and so he stayed on until he was permanently laid off in March. 

It didn't make much difference because we had two apartments that we were going great guns on. One was just a cleaning, and making small fixes and laying new linoleum where the tenant had burned the old (what do you do with a dying man who is smoking in a non-smoking apartment?) but the other was a full gut and took 2 1/2 months. Even though we were technically retired, we were working awfully hard. One of our tenants brought her son over to introduce him, and he observed 'If you guys are retired, you're doing it wrong.' 

But George moved into his new apartment. Jim moved into HIS new apartment, and suddenly...we are done. 

Yesterday, Tim worked on our poor neglected yard. I worked inside on our poor neglected house. 

We had goulash for supper and we dropped off a plate for Jim, who's still unpacking at his house.

Tim said, "Wanna go down and see what's playing at Music in the Park?" and since it sounded a bit like a date offer, I said yes. We walked downtown, passing by my old work place. 

"Miss it?" he asked. 

"Nope," I said. 

So Music in the Park was a good band playing classic rock and roll. I do have to say that it is always going to be a bit jarring to watch gray heads bobbing along in time to the music. Some folks danced up front. Tim's not a dancer. He's a preacher's kid, and dancing was a sin. It's okay, because I'm self conscious and dancing makes me feel foolish. So we sat in the grass and watched. A tall thin white haired lady danced up front in a very unselfconscious way, and she must have been a regular, because the band called her out by name, and asked the crowd to give her a hand (Me to Tim: "Wait? Did they just call her 'Coochie'?") 

But the music was good and it was a pleasant evening sitting in the crowd and listening to music from our much younger years, and our gray heads were bobbing right along with the rest of them. Tim reached over and picked me a buttercup and handed it to me in his quiet way. 

At nine, the music was over. We picked ourselves up and dusted ourselves off and began walking home. We took a detour through the Peace Walk, which winds past a local church, a quiet place with a burbling waterfall and a bench. You are surrounded by trees and solar lights, a soothing place. The lightning bugs accompanied us on the walk home, and under a tree covered sidewalk, we ran into a whole swarm of them, it seemed like. I held out my hand and watched a couple land. 

We got 8 hours of sleep last night, and woke up in a leisurely way this morning. We'll go to the retirement property. Tim will work on brush hogging. I will work on the garden and this afternoon, when it is hot, I will work inside getting the camp open for business this summer. 

We have said it several times today...we're both starting to feel retired. 

24 comments:

  1. Lucky you to be retired. The Rock gig sounded brilliant.

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    1. Oh, I imagine you'll get old soon enough, Northsider. Every Friday night, our town puts on "Music in The Park" and it is local bands who come and play. Most of the line up this summer is classic rock, but there are other kinds of music as well. The concerts are free and start at 7 and end at 9. Last night's music had over between 300-400 people.

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  2. Sounds like a nice day and evening! Time to relax and enjoy yourselves! You deserve it!

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    1. Oh Ellen, I'm so looking forward to relaxation.

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  3. Debby you sure paint a pretty picture! Your evening sounded so nice, and there's a real sense of calm here. :^)

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    1. As opposed to the White Rabbit looking at a clock and running full tilt muttering, "I'm late! I'm late!"

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  4. Wonderful relaxing post. Enjoy it all

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  5. Finally!! Congratulations. -Kelly

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  6. Nearly three years after retirement, you try to make me feel guilty. My retirement has been one of much underachievement, doing what I like when I like, pleasing and amusing myself. And, I don't feel guilty at all.
    Seeing the concert with music you like on a pleasant evening sounds terrific.

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    1. Oh pooh~ No guilt! If I could have figured a way to do what I like when I like, pleasing and amusing myself, I would not feel guilty at all either!

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  7. (Kay of Musings) It’s really nice, isn’t it? I’ve been enjoying retirement now since 2004 which is really amazing to me. And yet, I really loved teaching and still sometimes miss the children, the fun, satisfaction and friendships of that time.

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    1. I've had a very nice couple days. It is nice to feel like I'm catching up.

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  8. A perfect day, and concert for dessert.

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  9. Retirement is a busy time. I filled it with being on various boards and volunteering. I was never bored.

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  10. I wasn't bored. I was kind of hoping to become bored at some point.

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  11. The buttercup was a lovely gesture.

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  12. I am also a semi-preacher’s kid, and dancing wasn’t on. But in my late fifties and very early sixties, I did take up line dancing and loved it. It took me awhile to get comfortable and get the hang of it, but I did. I didn’t get too far with couples dancing, but we did a bit of it.

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  13. Well, I hope they didn't call her Coochie, but hey -- to each her own. Your walk home sounds especially magical. I miss lightning bugs. (Or fireflies, as I'd call them.) We don't have them here.

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I'm glad you're here!

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