A Good Start

 Good morning, everyone.

This is my third day of retirement, and everyone asks me how it feels. I tell them it's great because that's what they want to hear. Truth is, it's too soon to know how it feels because it hasn't really sunk in yet. Major changes require time to adjust. At least, that is how it works for me.

My retirement gift to myself. A Frog and Toad t-shirt
 from my favorite Frog and Toad story.

But it really has been a good three days of retirement. It's 10:30 am, and I just realized that all I've really accomplished this morning involves food. One of my goals is to visit with friends more often, so this morning, I sent an email asking if we should reschedule tomorrow's lunch because of an impending ice storm. Next, I confirmed a breakfast with a friend for next week. Tonight, we're going to a bar for line dancing, and I studied the menu to see what I might want to get from there. Then Theo, who we haven't seen in a few weeks, called, so we're going to lunch with him today. Which meant, of course, that I had to study the menu at that restaurant. I also sent another email about a lunch I'm having here in a couple of weeks for some work friends.

I didn't expect you to follow the above paragraph, but I think you got the idea that food and friends are on my mind. That's a lot of eating out, but that's what I'm splurging on for now. 

In addition, I've been to a line dancing class, a strength and balance class, and a ballroom dance class. Throw in a new book and a high score on Cookie Jam, and I am living the life!

Until next time...

Difficult times

I started this post yesterday when I was feeling upset about the recent plane crash. This morning, I heard about another one in Philidelphia. I generally try to be positive here, but chatting about the roses I got when I was preoccupied with fires and crashes didn't seem right. So bear with me as I ramble on about a difficult subject.

An unfortunate fact of life is that tragedies happen somewhere to somebody every day. Some of them only affect a few people at a time, and some happen in a big way to many people at once. These are the ones that occupy the news. Recently, that has been the plane and helicopter crash in Washington, D.C.

This crash really has nothing to do with me, but because I am familiar with its surroundings, it is hitting harder than some other disasters.

I can't imagine the pain that the families are going through as bodies are being recovered, but it has unsettled me all the same. I have a few tangential connections that have given me pause. To begin with, I have flown many times in and out of Reagan National Airport and drive by there at least once a month. 

The airport is not on the city's outskirts like it once was because the expanding population has grown around it. Ward grew up 12 miles from there and said he remembers loud planes going over his house and they would have to pause their conversation because of the noise. After many complaints from homes, the airport changed the flight patterns to go down the Potomac River and over fewer neighborhoods. They have been doing this for decades, but it can make the approaches to the airport more difficult.

The army helicopter was stationed at the base where my father-in-law worked for years and lived for a time as a youth. I have visited the base a few times with Ward's grandmother, and my father-in-law still lives nearby.

Speaking of helicopters, my niece is a Coast Guard helicopter pilot. Her current assignment is to patrol the airspace over Washington, D.C. If someone ventures into the airspace, usually innocently, she warns them that they need to move. If they don't comply, the Air Force comes in. I haven't had a chance to talk to her to see if this recent crash has changed her job.

Also, we have a friend who works for the NTSB and travels worldwide evaluating plane crashes. I don't know if he is involved with this one, but he has told some interesting stories over the years.

Humans are not made to handle constant stress. We can't internalize every tragedy we see, but with continuous news sources, we see a constant stream of them. I once heard that our brains are still wired to receive news at the speed of thousands of years ago when a runner spread the news from one village to another. Sometimes, days or weeks could go by without hearing anything significant.

I'm not sure what to do with these overwhelming tragedies except to contribute money and time when I can and try to be pleasant and helpful in little ways to all I meet. You never know what personal problems someone is dealing with, and a little kindness can sometimes go a long way.

I'm Impressed

 I was chatting with a woman at the library yesterday who was lamenting that that library would be closed for two years for renovation. This is a common conversation these days because the doors will close next week for this work. As we discussed alternatives, she revealed that she read 342 books last year!! She does this mostly by listening to audiobooks as she works as a house cleaner. She often plays them at 2x the speed unless she really likes the narrator, then she does normal speed. And for some authors, she likes to read the words in paper book form. No matter how she does it, I was impressed! I'm not sure I have the attention span to devour that many books in that amount of time. And something tells me she may not spend as much time playing computer games as I do. 😀

When the library doors close next week, that will be my final day before I retire. I've shed a few tears when I think about leaving, but that's a good thing--to be leaving a job I like enough that I am sad about leaving. 

But as I said in my high school graduation speech, "All old things must end, so new things can begin." (Which, BTW, my mother was heavily involved in helping me write. One of her many talents.)

Until next time...

Practicing

I am a person who wakes up with a plan for the day and likes to get moving. But today was different, and I liked it. The snow we had yesterday created a beautiful picture outside. Something about snow makes everything seem so peaceful, and I went with that feeling.

Instead of jumping into things, I had a leisurely breakfast while watching Leave It to Beaver. I checked my email, played a few games, and read a few blogs. Then Ward decided the house was cold, so while we were waiting for it to warm up, we went back to bed and read a book about the history of Poland together (which, by the way, was pretty dense). 

After a while, I thought I should do something productive, so I made a phone call and promptly was put on hold for an hour before I gave up. Maybe the roads were too icy for the staff to make it to work?

While on hold, I started sorting boxes I brought home from work. One thing I brought home was a big stuffed dinosaur that we used for decoration in the children's area of the library. As it turns out, my sister works with someone who used to volunteer at the library when he was a teen in the 1990s, and he donated a big dinosaur to the library. I think this might be the one, so she is going to take it to him to see. His mother made it for him; it would be fun if her grandchildren could play with it now.

So, I actually left the house and took the dino to my sister to take to work tomorrow. And as long as I was out, I picked up a prescription. 

Tonight, Ward and I went to the rec center for our dance class. And a good time was had by all.

So, I consider today a good day to practice taking things at a slower pace and being okay with that. I know that it will take a while to find my new rhythm when I retire in a couple of weeks, but today was a fun day for me to try things out.

Until next time...

Hello, again.

 I haven't posted since New Year's Day. I've composed a few posts in my head and even started a Year in Review post but didn't get past February. Blog follow-through has not been my strong suit this month.

One of the pieces from the mantle I'm missing.
BTW, I don't display it with the ribbon. 😀

I guess I've been preoccupied with other things. First, there were the busy holidays which, by the way, we have only one last thing from them to put away. Everything is back in its regular place except for the two framed cross-stitch pieces that we display on our mantle. I put them away somewhere they wouldn't get broken, and I can't find them. I looked where I thought I put them and then every other place I could think of. They will show up eventually, I hope. The question now is whether I should wait to find them or find other things to put on the mantle. Right now, I am still waiting for them to miraculously appear.

The other mantle cross-stitch I'm missing.

Also, I am retiring at the end of this month. Besides trying to wrap my brain around this significant change, there has been a ton of confusing paperwork to turn in, but I have done that successfully. In addition, we've been trying to get various doctor appointments in before our insurance changes in February.

And with more time on our hands coming soon, we're planning three trips next year. We haven't made any big trips since before the Pandemic, so we're out of the practice of planning. But we have friends and family helping, making things a bit easier. Soon, details will fall into place, and I won't feel quite so overwhelmed. 

Ward shoveling our driveway last week.

Amongst those big things, we've started back to dance class, gone to my niece's first communion, and shoveled snow.

And speaking of work, I had better get ready. 

Until next time...

Happy New Year!

"Again, time elapsed."
― Carolyn Keene, The Secret of the Old Clock

The new year is a time to consider new beginnings. It brings with it endless possibilities and hope. As the busyness of my morning has faded into quiet alone time, I have been pondering my life. My life is good. I have no major health complaints. I have sufficient funds for a warm house, abundant food, and occasional extras. I have a loving and supportive husband and kids. I have good extended family and friends. (Not the least of which are you, my blog friends.) For everything that is important in life, I have all of the boxes checked. 

However, I have lived long enough to know that life isn't always like this. Mine certainly hasn't been. And because of this, sometimes I am waiting for the other shoe to drop. But in the new year, I will work on living in the here and now and appreciating what I have.  And not let worrying about the future rob me of the joy of the present.*

Is the new year a time for reflection for you? 

Until next time...

*Not intentionally, but living in the present seems to be a common theme among my posts. 

Note: When I sat down to write this post, I was going to tell you about my holiday week, starting with New Year's Eve and working backward. However, it went in an entirely different direction. The short version of my holiday week: We had a fun program for kids at work yesterday, Noon Year's Eve, where we counted down to the New Year at noon with lots of fun activities. Before Christmas, my sisters and families came for dinner and a gift exchange. Once again, the toddler provided fun entertainment. On Christmas Day, Wally and Theo came for breakfast and a gift exchange. Then we piled in the car and went to VA to celebrate with Ward's family. That was a loud, chaotic celebration where a good time was had by all (mostly).