Musings
About retirement… and random other things!
These blogs first appear as weekly columns in the Red Deer Advocate
Never knowing 6 o’clock again
I remember hearing once that retirement means you will never know 6:00 again. The idea was that the 6:00 morning alarm would never ring and 6:00 pm would drift by unnoticed because you’d be involved in something fun and all-consuming. Although I was kind of expecting this to come true, it never really did for me – thus far into my retirement, at...
In the blink of an eye
Well, that was fun, but did this summer ever go fast! I know we say that every year, especially since we have to wait through so many cold months for it to come around again. I am wondering, though, if time really does start to feel like it’s picking up speed as we get older. I feel like I was just starting to get into the groove and now it’s...
The time of your life
I loved the old Burt Bacharach song ‘Times of Your Life’. Many of us did, of course. It was so effective at touching our nostalgic nerve that it was picked up by the Kodak company for a big ad campaign in the 1970s. Will you remember the times of your life? I’ve thought of that question many times through the years and I still sing the song when...
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...