The blog
Google “retirement crisis” and you’ll come up with roughly 2.7 million hits—enough to say, yes, there is a crisis facing the majority of us newly retired types. I’ve clicked around, and the majority of Google’s links (maybe 99%) take you to articles that talk about money. Seems we haven’t saved nearly enough of it. Duh.…
Joni, Bill and kids came in from North Carolina today. So, after stopping by the mail box, we’re having a conversation with Jack, age 8. Jack: What number is your mail box? Charlotte: 13. Jack: Why don’t people like that number? Charlotte: I think they consider it unlucky. Jack: Are you unlucky? Charlotte: I don’t…
Installed countertops yesterday, and the bricklayers finished an inside fireplace—both beautiful work. I’m thankful for skilled craftsmen. Am watching one of our famous West Texas sunrises as I write these words, and I’m thankful for it, too. At a friend’s suggestion, last spring I started every prayer with 10 things for which I was thankful…
Saw several horny toads on my bike ride today. Actually, they’re not toads but lizards, the Texas Horned Lizard to be exact. We call them “horny” not because of sexual predilection but because that’s what everyone else calls them in this part of Texas. “Seen any horny toads lately?” On the elementary school playground my…
Chatted with Rodney and Peggy at the 4th of July parade, watched fireworks with Gerry and Darla, and ate dinner last night with Ted and Connie, all of which led me to sit down and write this blog: The best retirement books—the ones that talk about more than just money—say that good friendships are an…
Trim carpenters finished yesterday. They worked Saturday and on the 4th. Suppose it had anything to do with those double-fudge brownies Charlotte baked them? Amazing what happens toward the end of a building project. Little things (like window sills and baseboards) make all the difference. Suddenly, the murky dreams of design and long hours of…
“A chief source of happiness for retirees,” writes Ernie Zelinski, “is an artistic pursuit.” So I looked it up. Merriam-Webster defines art as “something that is created with imagination and skill that is beautiful or that expresses important ideas.” For examples, the online dictionary lists paintings, sculptures and drawings. I’m in big trouble. My college…
“During most of human history only one in ten people lived to the age of 65,” writes Gail Sheey (The New Passages”). “In contemporary America, eight in ten people sail past their sixty-fifth birthday.” Drs. John Rowe and Robert Kahn (“Successful Aging”) put it even more dramatically: “It is currently estimated that of all the…
Elder-escence—as in adolescence—it’s what I’ve decided to call these early days of retirement. But, first, this morning’s bike ride. Nothing like a good thunderstorm to wash off some of this West Texas dust and renew the prairie. Which is what I’m hoping elder-escence will do for my spirit. OK—a definition. Adolescence bridges the gap between…
Watching my second rainbow of the day and thinking of some lyrics by Don Wyrtzen. “When I was just a child I knew Why rain fell and flowers grew The I believe came easy then And I can still remember when” The words convict me. Because for most of the afternoon I’ve been filling out…
Repacking, says Richard Leider and Alan Webber, is an essential step in getting ready for retirement or what they call a “life reimagined.” According to these authors, repacking means deciding what to keep and what to jettison for the years ahead. It’s “a practice that challenges you to lighten your load.” Makes me think of…
Routine—I’ve had one all of my adult life. As a camp director, I knew breakfast was at 8:30, activities began at 10:00 and campfire happened at 9:00—every night. My college classes began at 7:30, lunch at 11:30 (12:00 noon on Tuesdays and Thursdays), then a nap, grading most of the afternoon, class at 6:00 p.m.…