It has been a year since I retired. It has been....interesting. Rick and I take turns getting up with the girls in the morning; that means that every other day I get to snuggle in with Mollipop until 8:00, sometimes even 8:30 before we drag our butts out of bed. After years of getting up at 4:00 and 5:00 in the morning to get my walk in before getting ready for work, 8:00 is awesome!
I'm no longer on "Weekend Mode," meaning I have to get the house cleaned and all the laundry done over the weekend bc of working during the week. I can do it anytime I feel like it. After being in "Weekend Mode" for over 20 years, doing something when I feel like it is quite nice. Sunday nights are different now because I don't think, "Well crap, I have to go to work tomorrow!"
Last week, when we had 17 inches of snow, I was grateful that I didn't have to try to drive home in that mess. Rick and I were already home and sitting in the living room, watching it snow. No worries, no hassles. I am grateful. Don't get me wrong; I can drive in snow and ice. If you live in the Northeast, you learn quickly. But I never enjoyed it.
And when the togetherness between Rick and me gets to be a little much (and we do have our moments!), well, there's the she shed. Sometimes I go out to the shed; sometimes Rick does. It's there for both of us and we enjoy it. It's quiet and it's very peaceful. I love sitting on the deck of the she shed on summer afternoons, watching the squirrels and rabbits chase each other around in the yard. They are simply hilarious and they never fail to give me a smile. I love listening to the woodpecker that has nested in the white pine by the she shed. We have two pairs of cardinals, one nests in the holly bushes in the front yard; the other pair lives in the weigelas in the back yard by the pool. They are beautiful. During the week, it's pretty quiet, although our neighbors are all working from home right now. I might hear somebody mowing his lawn throughout the week. Not a big deal.
Of course, there's still the pandemic, the social-distancing, and wearing the masks. But that's OK and we're lucky that we can do so. We haven't seen The Grands much at all this year and, when I retired, I didn't think it would be like that. Nonetheless, we're dealing and it's OK. And maybe, just maybe, once we have had the vaccine, we'll be able to get out a little more often than we do now. I'm looking forward to life returning to whatever will pass for normal.
So that's been my first year of retirement. Not exactly what we'd planned overall, but it's OK. More than OK really. And life is good.
I'm no longer on "Weekend Mode," meaning I have to get the house cleaned and all the laundry done over the weekend bc of working during the week. I can do it anytime I feel like it. After being in "Weekend Mode" for over 20 years, doing something when I feel like it is quite nice. Sunday nights are different now because I don't think, "Well crap, I have to go to work tomorrow!"
Last week, when we had 17 inches of snow, I was grateful that I didn't have to try to drive home in that mess. Rick and I were already home and sitting in the living room, watching it snow. No worries, no hassles. I am grateful. Don't get me wrong; I can drive in snow and ice. If you live in the Northeast, you learn quickly. But I never enjoyed it.
And when the togetherness between Rick and me gets to be a little much (and we do have our moments!), well, there's the she shed. Sometimes I go out to the shed; sometimes Rick does. It's there for both of us and we enjoy it. It's quiet and it's very peaceful. I love sitting on the deck of the she shed on summer afternoons, watching the squirrels and rabbits chase each other around in the yard. They are simply hilarious and they never fail to give me a smile. I love listening to the woodpecker that has nested in the white pine by the she shed. We have two pairs of cardinals, one nests in the holly bushes in the front yard; the other pair lives in the weigelas in the back yard by the pool. They are beautiful. During the week, it's pretty quiet, although our neighbors are all working from home right now. I might hear somebody mowing his lawn throughout the week. Not a big deal.
Of course, there's still the pandemic, the social-distancing, and wearing the masks. But that's OK and we're lucky that we can do so. We haven't seen The Grands much at all this year and, when I retired, I didn't think it would be like that. Nonetheless, we're dealing and it's OK. And maybe, just maybe, once we have had the vaccine, we'll be able to get out a little more often than we do now. I'm looking forward to life returning to whatever will pass for normal.
So that's been my first year of retirement. Not exactly what we'd planned overall, but it's OK. More than OK really. And life is good.
Even when I was subbing after being retired I still had those feelings not knowing if I'd be asked to come in on a moment's notice or take a long term position. With everything that happened this year due to the pandemic I know it would have been stressful to be at work. 
.
, so there you are.
