The blog is back! After a long hiatus... and as I'm fully embracing Day 2 of retirement. Retired at 51?! Yes, because why wait until 70 to do all the things you plan to when by just scaling back your lifestyle, you could enjoy those things much earlier. At 70, I may not have the health or ability to enjoy those goals. But if I work on self-care now, I'll have a better chance of reaching others in the future.
Thankfully, we downsized late lat year and Dan is now able to work remotely 80% of the time while making the same income he did while commuting 2 hours several times a week to Bellevue. He's not only found time to accomplish work goals, but his surroundings and daily routine includes feeding ducks and birds. The guy is at peace when he's watching ducks eat, simple pleasures.
What am I going to do with myself? Well, my first two weeks have proven to be without any down time as we prep our former home for closing and are STILL clearing out stuff from the corners after 6 month of moving... wondering HOW did we EVER acquire so much STUFF?! And releasing all but that which is essential has been greatly empowering.
Books? We have a library a 5 minute walk away... poof! Gone.
Heirloom china setting for 12 that must be hand washed - donated to a boutique that benefits the homeless in our area -- poof! Gone.
Work attire - going to a women's shelter -- not yet poofed and gone...
Large home furniture - going to a resale shop that gives items to homeless families transitioning to new residences -- poof and gone date on schedule...
We have just what fits in 1/2 of our former square footage and are still purging as we go through a second reorganization this Spring. Less to find space for, clean and maintain means more space for doing... more will be poofing and going as we progress.
The second part is how will I spent my time? The only caveat of retiring that I agreed to was NOT to give all of my time away and become as stressed as I was previously with work. Upon reflection, I discovered we have 168 hours in a week. Half of which we are asleep - giving us 84 usable hours to divide between ideals. My ideals, values, driving forces are self care, family and community efforts. I plan to divide 21 hours a week between those 3 diversions. The last ten years have been spent working to invest in our sons' educational and career goals. They are at a point where they need to shoulder those with less parental involvement, but just as much parental support.
Self care was the first thing that my schedule compromised and the first thing given up when I got behind or lost track of tasks. The commitment to have us eat better and engage in exercise as a way of accomplishing errands as well as for exploring our new surroundings while meeting others in the same pursuits should bring peace and better sleep. We have a whole small lake to paddle and the mind just unrolls while on water. Jumping fish, swooping birds, diving ducks, turtles and frogs I have only heard but not yet seen. Sun warming my back and therapeutic, slow rhythmic movement of shoulder and arm joints should make for better overall flexibility, less reliance on ibuprofen, which in turn will improve chemical balances.
One goal is to spend more time with my parents before we have to shift into a caregiver role, just going to breakfast or lunch, short road trips, helping with housekeeping chores that are beyond their safe ability to handle alone and just spending time together so that when they need a role change to caregiver, we have stories to recall and memories to share as we do more unpleasant but necessary tasks for health and welfare.
Our nephews are preschool and school age, still in that magical window of wonder and amazement in the world's small miracles. And still easily amused with a bottle of bubbles, a popsicle, small trinket or magic trick. While their lives are still simple, I want to take time to play with them, share stories and adventures and discover city parks to get us needed Vitamin D3, fresh air, and embark on our quest to find the best ice cream in the area... for that I need cohorts. The Meeker bros did well in their time, the next generation needs to be honed on the selection of gooey creaminess and the skills of not melting before blissful consumption has ensued.
The greater community has so many worthy efforts for my time to address the societal issues that I need to change 'hands on' instead of by just posting complaints. Homelessness, educational time and budget shortfalls, parenting support, litter control, safety issues, senior citizen assistance -- just to name a few. I'll need to observe the work of several organizations before stepping in to help with those that align with my values and abilities without draining their volunteer resources into burnout.
If I can manage to balance 21 hours a week in these 3 areas, I hope to find better health in body, mind and spirit while engaging others to do the same.
21 hours - we can all find 21 hours to improve self, relationships status or surroundings.
What can be pruned to encourage more growth?
What will you find when you engage those 21 hours?
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