Will I be Bored?

When I decided to retire, I announced my decision about 7 months prior to my actual "retirement date." I needed the time for Haime and I to get used to the idea and I hoped that my coworkers, many of whom were surrogate family, would be better able to plan for filling my space if they had sufficient notice. Although I had always told my friends and family about my plans to retire at as early an age as I could, as the magic date drew ever nearer, I began to wonder what my "next chapter" would entail. Would it be some type of hybrid version of my first 30 years in the work-world or would it be something else entirely? Would Haime and I be able to coexist and be happy together when we were in each other's company 24-7 or would one of us meet our demise at the hands of the other?

My biggest concern...will I be bored?

Boredom is my biggest enemy, it always has been.  I remember one especially rainy day of my childhood when we were trapped indoors; (I was never able to entertain myself for very long periods of time with dolls, books, coloring or other quiet "little girl" stereotypical activities); I entered into a gloomy, whiny funk to the point where my mom finally caved to my pleas and allowed me to go out and play in the puddles. I got drenched but I remember that as a particularly great rainy afternoon. Honestly, I'd rather have a root canal, (and I loathe going to the dentist for anything), than be bored.

I am very happy to report that retirement is AWESOME! Yes, I know, I've written that before but I want to be clear.

My official date of retirement was in early November but the last day that I reported to work was September 20, 2011. Even though I didn't choose that date, (it actually just coincided with the last day I had to report prior to being able to use my accrued vacation and personal leaves), it was particularly significant for me because it would have been my dad's 76th birthday. My dad also hated to be bored.  He retired four different times, each time he thought he'd be happy doing "just what I want to do, when I want to do it." He wasn't so he'd go back to work, always doing something slightly different but basically the same. Unlike my dad, I am very happy, so far, with my post-retirement life.

In the past year, I have made some progress on the never-ending list of projects that I want to get done around my house and around my mom's house.  I have travelled, built some furniture, started exercising again (with determination this time) and have actually embraced my battle of the bulge. I've also re-entered part of my "Suzie Homemaker" past...that is, I've made jelly (from grapes we grew), canned salsa (from veggies from our garden) and made sugar-free pumpkin pies from the pumpkin that I carved for Carter. OK, side note needed here about the pumpkin pies...

One of the local churches near us hosts a "pumpkin patch" every year as a fundraiser. Haime and I took Carter over there so he could choose a pumpkin for us...yes, it was really just an excuse for some cute "Kodak moments." Anyway, we took the selected pumpkin home, I carved it and lighted it with a small electric votive candle...CUTE, right? Well, another "side-effect" of my retirement (or maybe just my age), is that I am becoming more conscious about our environment and try hard to do things to embrace the "reduce, reuse, recycle" mentality. So, after the carving was done, I had a bowl of pumpkin (and pumpkin seeds and stringy pumpkin guts-yuck!). Well, one of the best things about fall is, in my humble opinion, pumpkin pie. I cooked the pumpkin (steamed for 2 hours and I'm really not sure it was done yet) and mashed it in a food processor and added lots of cinnamon and spice and (fake) sugar and tasted it...not impressed! I couldn't believe it, it tasted a lot like grass (the kind you plant in your yard, not the other kind that people might use for medicinal purposes or buy from some shady person on the street that comes in a baggy). So, I added more spices and pecans (another fall favorite) and some shaved BRIX chocolate and baked the pies (without shells, of course, so I could have pumpkin pies with as few carbohydrates as possible---brilliant right?) NO...DISASTER! The pies had absolutely no pumpkin flavor at all! They actually tasted like grass with pecans. I couldn't even taste any of the chocolate. I was so disappointed I nearly cried (OK, not really cried, but I was really disappointed that I didn't get any sugar free pumpkin pie).  

Now, back to the most amazing part of retirement...believe it or not, Haime and I are both still alive and actually we are both very happy being retired together and I have not been bored...yet!

TTFN:  

Lois