Musings
About retirement… and random other things!
These blogs first appear as weekly columns in the Red Deer Advocate
A day at the lake
My mom and Dad had purchased a 16-foot trailer before I was even born, so the older three kids were already used to sardining into it by the time I came along. It was hot, cramped and basic – and it provided a base from which unbelievably happy memories grew. Dad was still busy working all summer at The General Hospital, so he would drive up from...
Reflecting on that first job
I’ve heard from some of you about your first job, or your strangest job, after my column a few weeks ago. I’ve learned there is a strict etiquette around busing tables, or more particularly the manner in which dirty cutlery gets placed slowly into the soaking tray and not tossed so as to splash everyone else in the kitchen. Lots of people had...
Smiles all around at ‘Barbie’ movie
Hey, did you hear there’s a new Barbie movie playing? Kidding – you’d have to be living under a pink plastic dream home if you haven’t heard! What you might not have heard is how clever it is – that part took me by surprise. I went to a weekday matinee with my adult daughter (yay for retirement and free weekday afternoons!) I haven’t been to a...
Preparing for the big milestone
'The selfie I took on the first day back to work from vacation a couple of years ago was already starting to show pretty clear signs of career fatigue!' I signed up for a First Aid course the month before I retired, which seemed even to me to be much more work-related than leisure-related. Trouble letting go, I guess. Of structure, of routine,...
Letting go of negative emotions
I have to admit that anger was a big reason that I decided to retire when I did. Reaching the right age also had something to do with it, of course, but I felt that people’s anger seemed unstoppable after the pandemic. Other people’s anger, as well as my own. It was visible to me inside and outside of work, and I began to judge people. I began to...
What if someone else’s retirement impacts us?
Okay, so maybe I’m a bit self-absorbed. I’ve been reflecting on retirement and finding fulfillment and preparing for the big change, all from the first-person perspective. How the choices YOU make throughout YOUR transition can help create a rewarding retirement for YOURSELF. But, what happens when your life is impacted by OTHER people’s...
Revelations on the front step
Last week I briefly mentioned ‘the front step’ of my childhood home, and I’ve been thinking about that pivotal spot quite a bit since! It was a gathering place through the years, for sure. We sucked on homemade Tupperware Popsicles as young children, gossiped about school later on, lamented broken hearts, took countless photos – grad photos,...
The view before me
I was driving down one of my favourite riverside lanes the other day on the way to one of Red Deer’s amazing green spaces, when I had a glimpse of yesteryear out one side of my car and another of futurama out the other at precisely the same time. Moseying up the riverbed with his fishing rod and tackle box out the driver-side window was an...
Reaching 50th wedding anniversary and other anomalies
I had the loveliest time at my cousin’s 50th wedding anniversary gathering recently. It felt like one of those disappearing cultural milestones, like a mortgage burning party or converting your child’s bedroom to a sewing room when they finally leave home. Not all of us get there anymore, but we sure love to celebrate with those who do! The...