Retirement =/= Nothing to do

Photography: it's one of the ways I pass my time

Never, ever ask someone who is retired what they do all day. It's as silly as asking a stay-at-home parent how they spend all that time. (I won't get into the whole "must be nice to be a stay-at-home mother and do nothing all day" argument. Insane.)

As everyone who has retired before me can attest, there is no shortage of stuff to keep me busy. The delightful part is that I can take my time about it.


For example, today I had my first in the 21-week series of allergy shots (in an effort to stem my chronic sinus infections). First, I never did this while working because it would have cut at least two hours out of my day to go get the shot. Second, I would have been stressed about being away from the office.

Instead, today, I got my shot, relaxed for the requisite half hour just in case I went into a major allergic crisis, then popped over to the mall to pick up prescriptions and -- oh, yes, I need to replace my favourite lipstick.

I dawdled, and it was delightful.

Then I came home, in plenty of time to get dinner going. In looking at my recipes, I chose one for which I didn't have the fresh ingredients on hand. In more rushed days, I would have substituted dried or canned ingredients, if not a pre-packaged meal (which we don't by anymore). Instead, I put Kane in his harness and we went to the produce store; he stayed in the car.

Then I came home and got our linguine alle vongole half-way prepared so that I could cook it up in a jiff when Steve gets home. He was greeted by a snoot-ful of garlic, onions and Italian parsley. YUM!

That's just part of the afternoon. There was also the leisurely walk with Kane, some photography, sweeping and mopping the main floor, checking on a couple of other websites I'm involved with, and crafting this blog post.

It's a relaxed pace, no question, but it evidently is what I needed (need) because I'm feeling healthier than I have in years. Life is good.