Musings
About retirement… and random other things!
These blogs first appear as weekly columns in the Red Deer Advocate
It’s a wonderful life
(Here we are, young backpackers atop one of the amazing pinnacles in Kalabaka, Greece. I'm the one on the right - the big hair makes me easy to spot!) My mom used to admonish me for ‘wishing my life away’, even when I was just a young girl. I was often looking for something else to be happening even though I was surrounded by pleasant people and...
Enjoying the season
Here we are, smack-dab amid all the festivities. My wish is that your days are filled with kind visits and good cheer enroute to a happy holiday feast! My second wish is that my own festive gathering will be free of the mini calamities that seemed to haunt our Thanksgiving celebrations. Although we had spent much time and effort to create a...
Address book adventure
I bet you’re right in the middle of writing Christmas cards. I am, although I’ve cut my list down to just a dozen or so in an effort to keep things simple. I’ve always found this tradition to be a top seasonal stressor – as I wrote about in this article that was first published in The Globe and Mail several years ago: If you are a writer, you...
This time around
There used to be a commercial for my favourite brand of jeans, reminding people to take a softer approach to life ‘this time around’. When that pair of jeans was new and a whole host of experiences were waiting for you and them to experience together. ‘This time around, I’ll slow down and appreciate. I’ll be kinder to those around me, etc.’ ...
It takes a village
It really does take a village to accomplish things successfully – from raising healthy children (where the saying originally came from) to accomplishing your career goals to navigating retirement. The old proverb implies that the entire community should provide for and interact positively with children for them to reach a state of healthy...
Left holding the bag
I got busted for having a sheathed knife in my purse at airport customs once, but I can explain. It happened several years ago, when I had been at a Christmas party with a dear friend soon after both of us were divorced. He insisted I needed a ‘night out’ which, given how pleasant the dinner and entertainment had been, I think he was right. Plus,...
Live in the moment
I fell again and it was on account of my dog again, but it wasn’t really his fault this time. We were roughhousing in the yard, going pretty hard in a game of chase, when we found ourselves running headlong into one another. Before we knew it, he had sideswiped my legs right out from under me and I made significant airtime before hitting the...
Right place, just a bit late
'A beautiful autumn day in Central Park - the timing for this was perfect!' I recently returned from a very nice vacation in New York. Oddly, I arrived just a few days after Mick Jagger and Lady Gaga surprised everyone with a little nightclub concert to celebrate the release of the new Stones album. Don’t worry, I’m not going to start ranting...
Full metal cleaning
Though I’m not going to win any good housekeeping awards, I do keep my place pretty tidy. But come fall, I turn into a bit of a cleaning beast. Scuttling along the floorboards with a spray bottle, shimmying between heavy furniture with a mop, slithering under beds with the dust buster. Dust bunnies and lone Cheerios that made the break and rolled...