Retirement, the myth

Odessa
Aug. 25

Yes, retirement, the myth is that you have lazy days and not much to do that you don't want to do. You don't have to WORK! Well, let me tell you, I know a few people that have flunked retirement (Yes, Gary W that means you) on a large scale basis and then there are the ones (like me) that have flunked on a minor basis. I have discovered I can't sit and do nothing. It is not in me! And I have tried, but after a few minutes I get figdety and can not sit still. I then either have to 1.) get up and do something, 2.) find something to do with my hands while sitting 3.)fall asleep (which doesn't come easily some times). WHY? Why can't I just relax? And I have enough projects going to keep me busy until, oh, 2121! And that is about the time I will finish them. Now, I am not saying that I WANT to do some of these projects (like paint the bathroom or the deck); but that until they get done I can't rest. I love some of my projects, quilting, scrapbooking, playing on the computer, reading, etc. However, I was brought up that you get your work done first and THEN play. DARN MOM! She instilled those values in me so deep I can't play until I get my work done. RATS! I may get my quilts done in 2010...maybe. I am hoping to get the baby quilts done before the babies I am making them for graduate from High School!

We got back to Odessa late Thursday. It was perfect traveling weather, not too hot, (except in Toppinish) and my car didn't explode or over heat...always a good thing. I really need to buy another car, but trying to make the Explorer last at least another year or so. Anyway, back home at the house, the cats had lots to tell us about how they were neglected (not) and other various cat tails, er tales. A friend called us and asked if we could dog sit her dog for the weekend as she and her kids were at the Lincoln County Fair with their horses, pigs, etc. SURE, I said. Well --here comes Brody, a rat terrier that isn't quite a year old! WOW, what a fun time we had with him. The dogs loved him and the cats hated him...situation normal.

On Sunday we had a luncheon for Al's cousin Christine and husband Denys from Australia; niece Claudia and husband Larry were here as well as Ardis and Jerry. WE had a short, but good visit.

Today is rainy and gloomy, which is nice for a change, as long as it doesn't stick around. AL isn't feeling well and I am trying to talk him in to going in to see the local doctor, but so far no luck. He has a bad cough and is congested and wheezing. I will keep after him until he goes to the doc just to shut me up!!!

I received this article from my cousin Ted in Colorado and I thought I would share it with you all. It made me laugh, and pretty much sums up the correct feeling!

WHO IS GETTING OLDER???
Column from Rocky Mtn. News)

I'm aging very well; so well, in fact, that I can do it in my sleep. I can wake up in the morning and see a face in the mirror that's decades older than the one that I remember putting to bed.

Like most people, I fight back against getting older, using medicine's most potent anti- aging agent: denial. So when my birthday came around recently, I told everyone that I wanted the passage of another year to be marked with absolutely no acknowledgement at all except presents. And OK, a party. With cake.

As I ponder my accumulated years, which I'm willing to admit is more than 30 - oh, who am I kidding, I'm not that old. Let's say I'm in my mid- to late 20s. In other words, I'm the same age as my daughter.

So anyway, as I ponder these years, which I've added the same way I've put on weight around my waist - surreptitiously, like a burglar coming into the house in the middle of the night, only a burglar who leaves stuff instead of taking it - I realize I've had enough.

That's right, when it comes to age, I'm good. I don't need any more. Give the rest of my maturity to someone who needs it, like, say, Lindsay Lohan. There's nothing to be gained by having me get older than I am right now. Indeed, as far as I'm concerned, we could have ended this nonsense 20 years ago, back when I could stand up without grunting like an Olympic weight lifter going for the gold.

I realize that if I stop aging, I might not be able to retire as soon as I want, which is last week. But columnists don't ever retire anyway, they just cease to be relevant. (By that standard, you could argue that I retired before I ever got started.)

Scientifically speaking, aging is the process wherein your body's cells decide they're tired of regenerating and want to do something else, like sag to the floor. Our cells are programmed from birth to undergo this transformation. Fortunately, there are some things you can do to halt the aging process, like die. If that strikes you as extreme, try doing an Internet search on "prevent aging." You'll come up with 625,000 articles. Read them all and you won't have time to age.

What I don't like about getting older is that I don't think I've done anything to deserve it. I'm not ready: Not only have I not accomplished everything I set out to do, but most of the things I've done I didn't set out to accomplish. When the Grim Reaper knocks, I'm going to have to tell him he'll just have to come back when I've finished my task list.

Yet as much as I don't like aging, I certainly wouldn't pass up an opportunity to do it again. There are about 8.2 million articles on the Internet about reincarnation - but don't worry, if you can't read them all in time, you can finish them in your next life.

I took an online quiz on a reincarnation Web site that informs me that when I come back in my next life, I'll be a rhinoceros. Great. Rhinos look old when they're born. I'll be even less popular in high school than I was last time, and my columns will all be late because I won't be able to type.

There are also more than a million articles about premature aging, which is ironic. Doesn't all aging feel premature? I realize the AARP wants us all to be old, but how about you - are you ready for it?

I expect I'll hear from a lot of people who will tell me they're "growing old gracefully." Well, I'm growing old the way I acted when I was 2 years old and my parents wanted me to take a bath.

Anyway, yeah, I had another birthday recently, but that doesn't mean I'm happy about it.

I did like the presents, though. And the cake.

And on that note, I will close this blog for now....stay tuned...I may discover how to retire some day!