I’m trying to use my time wisely and that’s more challenging now that I don’t have a regular work schedule to plan around. You’d think that having more time would make it easier, but often it doesn’t. Time gets frittered away on numerous things during the day and suddenly it’s dinner time again. Being mindful,… Continue reading Forgetting To Remember To Be Present
Category: Reframe Your Thinking
Where In The World Is…
Considering that I’ve always lived on the same planet, I have managed to stay remarkably ignorant of its countries. Sure, I can find where I am on the globe, and the places that I’ve visited, but that’s about it. Sadly, most of my knowledge is extremely North American and Euro-centric. Challenging My Ignorance. A year… Continue reading Where In The World Is…
Healing My Relationship With Plants
I found myself talking regularly to the orchid in my bathroom, when it bloomed during the dead of winter. Its bright yellow and fuchsia blooms lifted my spirits when everything outside was frozen. I know they say that talking to your plants is good for them, but I’ve found that it’s been good for me… Continue reading Healing My Relationship With Plants
Truly Listening
I don’t know why it surprises me, but I still have so much to learn. Often the stuff I have to learn is not new stuff. It’s not stuff that I’ve never heard about before. It’s the basics: easy things that are hard to follow through on. This past week, it was listening. Listening. Yup,… Continue reading Truly Listening
State Your Age
It’s a little disconcerting to be at a family gathering and be faced with the fact that you’re part of the oldest generation there. I remember attending big family get-togethers when I was in my late teens and I was asked to sit at the kiddies’ table. Then, the oldest generation walked with canes, sat… Continue reading State Your Age
Enjoy The Process
It’s a great relief to many teachers that April 1st lands on a Saturday this year. No worries about being pranked by your students and no pressure to find just the right little joke to play on your students. The pressure to perform and meet expectations is real and an opportunity to avoid it, makes… Continue reading Enjoy The Process
All The Lonely People
When I look closely, I can see them sitting in coffee shops, wandering around grocery stores and waiting for the bus: lonely people. Lonely people can be surrounded by others and still feel isolated. It’s the lack of meaningful social connections that leave people feeling abandoned. Loneliness is something I’ve become more aware of now… Continue reading All The Lonely People
The Multi-Generational Home
It has been said recently, that this latest generation of new adults has it worse-off financially than several of the generations before them.* Those of us who have retired benefitted from the growth and comfort of the late 20th and early 21st centuries. Today’s new adults are struggling to afford the basics in life: shelter,… Continue reading The Multi-Generational Home
A Grey Blob Day
Waking up to see yet another grey sky on a Monday morning is not an inspiring sight. I’m an emotional dresser and I choose clothes that reflect how I’m feeling on the inside. Today, it was a grey blob. It wasn’t until a caught sight of myself in the mirror that I realized what I’d… Continue reading A Grey Blob Day
Growing Into A New Skin
Today is tattoo day for me. I’m getting my second tattoo and I’m nervous and excited. You might find it unexpected that a retired person should start getting tattoos. You might criticize me for getting one. Avoiding such criticism has often caused me to choose not to do something that I might otherwise have enjoyed.… Continue reading Growing Into A New Skin
Retired, And Now What? 