Over But Not Out

Today is the 5^th anniversary of my Runaway Boomer weekly blog. With this, I’ve published 262 posts on a rambling array of subjects. This has been a wonderful way to express myself; allowing me to explore what’s in my head and share thoughts and feelings with friends. Feedback has been rewarding and heartwarming.

My weekly self-imposed deadline was established to contribute some structure and discipline to my personal schedule after retirement. Given that our post-career life has evolved into a full, busy mixture of routine and spontaneous fun, I no longer feel the need for this weekly ritual – in fact, I am beginning to feel a bit stifled by it. My creative juices flow on their own schedule…not necessarily over morning coffee on Thursdays.

Runaway Boomer will continue – but postings will be less frequent and predictable. You will hear from me when something is on my mind that causes bubble and flow. I will write when, if I didn’t, my head might explode.

I hope you have enjoyed my blog over the past 5 years. Most certainly, I have! I’m not sure what’s next… I’ve always wanted to write a book, but I’m not convinced that I have the required attention span. Maybe Twitter is more my style. I’m open to where circumstances take me.

Peace

Retirement Brain

I forgot this was Thursday - Runaway Boomer blog day - until 5 minutes ago.

This is one of the risks/blessings of retirement. We don't always know what day it is without a calendar. I have two calendars, yet I still have occasional issues. My phone is my primary resource. Secondarily, we have a lovely Arizona Highways desk calendar that we keep either on the coffee table or the kitchen island.

Yet here it is, Thursday, and I forgot to write my blog this morning.

Days of the week are difficult enough, but the date is another thing entirely. I rarely write checks anymore, so don't have that reminder. Thank goodness for my cell phone, without which I would be lost. (Literally lost sometimes, as I use it as a GPS too.)

There are schedule touchstones, weekly events that usually keep us tuned in:

SUN: Couples Golf & $2 tacos at the club
MON: Golf with Ron
TUE: Sweet Adelines rehearsal night, and a new episode of "Justified" to watch when I get home
WED: Errands in town
THU: Afternoon golf with the girls
FRI: Happy Hour at Talking Rock's club
SAT: Ron's weekly hike, and when I put fresh sheets on the bed

The great thing is that we mostly don't care what day it is. We don't have to get up early. We don't have to go to work. After so many years of doing what we had to do, we now do what we want - pretty much when we want to. Woo hoo! Retirement brain isn't so bad.

EEK! It's Thursday!

Every Thursday morning, I get up early knowing that it's the day I write and post my Runaway Boomer Blog. But this morning, I was coming off a dinner party we hosted last night. Woke up late with a Greek food hangover, and enjoyed some quality time with a few much-needed cups of coffee. I checked on my Facebook friends, wrote some emails, made a few calls, and even considered a late morning nap.Then, "EEK! It's Blog Day Thursday!".

It's been a busy week. Rehearsals for our upcoming Sweet Adelines concert are taking up a minimum of 6 hours a week (2 rehearsals of 3 hours each + practice at home). We have also been consumed with preparation for our patio construction project. Tomorrow, we hope for final approval. That would mean that work and all the ensuing chaos starts early next week. I just scheduled installation of some rain gutters, which may happen in the midst of the patio project. Yesterday - house cleaning and food prep. Had our quarterly consultation with our financial advisor at 8am this morning, which is probably what threw me off in the first place.

Summer is in full swing here at Talking Rock, and that means our golf and social schedule is busy, busy, busy. In the midst of all this activity, we had the stress of the Doce wildland fire that came within about 5 miles of our home. Let's see, "Golf or evacuation, which will it be?"

So, you see, I'm a bit tired and discombobulated. It's been one of those weeks when I don't know what day it is and can't keep track of my calendar events or to-do list. I think doing laundry is about my speed today.