Musings
About retirement… and random other things!
These blogs first appear as weekly columns in the Red Deer Advocate
I thought I was having a nice time
I took on a freelance project for a school division south of Calgary recently and had enjoyed my time interviewing students and visiting schools. I checked into the hotel and asked around for a place to have dinner, deciding on a small locally owned Mexican restaurant. They brought my beer and I got a headstart on the next day’s work by going...
Small theatre, big heart
Gotta love smalltown theatre. It might be a neighbour or co-worker who you get to see onstage, or you might be involved yourself by stitching up a costume, painting a set or pouring wine during intermission. Every role is voluntary, from the folks at the corner store who help sell tickets to the president who is on the lookout for scripts, grants...
One book that all of Canada should read
I have a complicated relationship with Margaret Laurence’s classic novel, The Stone Angel. My first go-round with the novel came when my mom bought a beat-up copy from a garage sale at the senior’s home where my grandma lived. It would have been the late 1980s and it cost her a dime. When I accepted it, I must have had a confused look on my face...
Climbing the ladder
On my third trip to the hardware store to get the right lightbulb, I had my fingers crossed that I wouldn’t come face to face with the same sales clerk again. They were patient the first two times as I scrutinized the confusingly long aisle of lightbulbs this morning, but I know patience reaches a limit. Plus, I had encountered a little incident...
A field trip to the big library at last
My friend and I had tried to get to Calgary for a day at the ‘new’ downtown public library every year since it opened. For a whole bunch of reasons, it has taken us eight years to accomplish this field trip. But we got there a few weeks ago and loved every square inch of the magnificent gathering place! It was destined to be worth waiting for,...
Funeral for a friend
After months of visiting her at Calgary’s big new cancer centre, it was time to travel to her funeral. I’m so fortunate to have had her as a friend for a very long time. What I have been most amazed at, when I reflect on her life, is how many times she adapted her career – even into retirement. She was a dedicated and talented Registered Nurse,...
While you were out
I was a receptionist in a Calgary office back in the late 70s when we smoked cigarettes at our desks and had drinks at lunch. We used little pink phone message pads back then, where you would record the name and number of the person who called and then put a little checkmark beside the prompt that best describes what the receiver of the message...
Learning from challenges then letting them go
I’ve had a great year of challenges – all of which provided an opportunity to speak openly and invitingly about becoming a senior. It’s just another day added onto many that have come before, but it is a significant birthday. As my cousin said when she turned 65 a few years ago, “Yesterday I was the oldest of the young ones and today I’m the...
The Birthday Suit
It was all arranged. I was to spend my 65th birthday naked in front of a large group of people. No, I wasn’t going to streak through the downtown streets, I was going to be a nude model for a second-year drawing class at the college. I would summon every ounce of courage to be the exact way I entered the world six and a-half decades ago – in my...