Let's Try This Again! I'm Bored!

When I first retired, I started blogging about our adventures. As you can see, I began neglecting my blog and got busy doing other things. Facebook takes up lots of free time as I post, renew and maintain friendships and over share pictures of the grandchildren. I continue to work as a Senior Consultant for The Oncology Group www.theoncologygroup.com helping cancer programs and physicians enhance their services to patients. I also write and edit for publishing houses, websites and a medical editing firm in Taiwan on occasion. We still travel but often it's to places selected for the grands like Florida and Chattanooga. The older I get, the more I wonder what's next? I officially retired from the 60 hour work week in 2007 and my work has been part time. But, hello...I am bored!! And I'm only 67. Hopefully, I have a few more good years left.

So let's look at my next chapter in retirement! I explored a full time job at a local college but quickly realized I value my freedom of schedule. Adjunct faculty also requires a consistent commitment. The advantage to these jobs is that there is no airport involved. I am tired of flying for business. Our neighbors just moved here and started substitute teaching. After the first of the year, I may consider applying. The schools only call if they need you and you can decide if you're available! I still would like to generate a little income for that occasional cruise...we did the Baltic and loved it!

There are also tons of things I could do around the house. I love blogging but we already know I let that slide! Hobbies have also been neglected but I still love to cook new things and just dug out my yarn and knitting needles. Maybe I could learn to make something besides scarves? I love photography and need to get back to exploring new venues. So what's next?

My New Year's Resolution is to blog more! I will explore this next chapter in my life by sharing my reinvention in this next decade of my retirement journey! I know it will be just as much fun but different.

Making a List and Checking it Twice!

Did you think I had vanished? It's been a while since I've posted because we've been so busy. We hit the road a bit in the RV this summer and remembered why we love it so much. Sometimes you have to reactivate your feelings when you get old...that includes our use of the RV. As you age, things do tend to get a bit stale so you have to shake things up a bit. We tend to get into a rut and forget to try new things. When we decided to travel this summer, we sat down with the Atlas and figured out how to work a trip around the wedding of a dear friend, picking Mackinac Island and the UP of Michigan and northern Wisconsin since we hadn't been there. When you travel as much as we do, you tend to struggle to find new places. The last two years we've done cruises to both coasts of Canada and Alaska, but really didn't want to cruise again this year. The international instability is also a concern...when there are riots in London, you know things are in turmoil. This turmoil is a great reason to explore the U.S.! We spent Labor Day at a family reunion in East TN with the kiddos and grandkiddos followed by a quick trip to NC, leave soon for a weekend with a dear friend in Tunica, MS, and head to the Natchez, MS Fall Pilgrimage in October. We can't wait to tour the Antebellum Mansions!

The other compelling reason to stay closer to home is money! The stock market is fluctuating to the point that I'm dizzy. When you are retired, you don't have a lot of time for the market to rebound! I think that I also would prefer that my little dab of money be spent at home to help our faltering economy since our fearful leaders in DC don't seem to be doing anything. We have been so blessed to have traveled so much internationally over the years that if we never leave the U.S. again, we'll be fine. I still want to go to Ireland, but I still have a few more good years so hopefully I will get there some day!!

So your tip for the day...re-energize and shake things up a bit. Get out of your rut. Even if you can't afford the trip of a lifetime, look closer to home and see what the U.S. has to offer...it doesn't even have to be far from home. Most of our trips have been regional and we are having a ball. We have a nephew and his family that recently moved to Nashville and find more to do here than we even realized. Shakespeare in the Park, lots of local and neighborhood festivals, art gallery crawls and plays and programs at local colleges are all things they've discovered. We just forget to look and then complain that there is nothing to do! When I worked, I always had a "to do" list and plans for the upcoming month. Crack open your favorite beverage and sit down with your significant other and make a list of places you'd like to see and things you like to do.They don't have to be costly and, in fact, many local events are free. 

Enjoying life requires a little effort on your part! Activities just don't drop in your lap...if you sit in front of the TV day in and day out, or do the same old things over and over, you may not shorten your life, but you'll certainly shorten your fun! So check the paper on Friday or Sunday for upcoming activities, check local and regional websites for festivals and celebrations, and don't forget your local colleges with theater departments who often offer plays very inexpensively! Be proactive and get out of the house! You'll be glad you did.

Friends and Family Time!

One of the nice things about being old is that you have gathered tons of friends over the ages. Whether from family or work or neighborhood or church, it's always fun to get together even if it's been years since you've been face to face! With facebook and classmates.com, it is easy to reconnect with people you've lost touch with over the years. We just had a great weekend with Mike and Janis, Woody's brother and his wife at the Indy 500!  Our friend Cathy and our soon to be new friend, her husband David, are on their way from Raleigh to Chicago with a brief stop at the Edens' B&B! Or in this case B&D&B! Planning a lovely dinner at home to have lots of time for conversation and catching up.

Consider finding old friends and inviting them to come visit! It doesn't have to be fancy, just fun. Even if you haven't seen them in years, you'll love catching up, checking out who has the most wrinkles, and the cutest grandkids. You have more time now that you're retired so use it to reconnect with special people in your life.

And then, of course, there are fun times with grandkids. Off to Florida later this summer for a family vacation on the beach...the only struggle we've had thus far is our lead foot daughter and son-in-law and the slow pokes (that would be us!). I'm just going to be sure that we have the address because I'm too old to drive fast. After that trip, it's off in the RV. The housesitter is ready to guard and protect the house, the lawn and pool service engaged...all we have to do now is pack.  We're going to try to check in with some of our Florida trailer park friends that have headed north for the summer. 

You can collect new friends to go with the old ones whenever you open yourself to the possibility. Have fun this summer and collect some memories and new people to add to your circle of life.