Transitions

I rouse when one of my cats jumps up on the bed and onto my stomach. She is not accustomed to my new schedule yet. Removing one arm from underneath the pink covers, I pet my feline friend. After a few seconds of bonding, the cat purrs and jumps off of the bed. She trots out of the room as if she expects me to follow her and feed her. I will. Eventually.

My eyes begin to focus on the room around me. I reach my hand up over my head and feel the cool layers of pillows that prop me up. There is no rush. Not that either of my cats understand this new aspect of my life. I am just beginning to understand it myself. But for now my eyes close again and I feel the soft support of the cloud-like mattress underneath me and the warmth of the blanket that covers me. It’s starting out to be a good day.

When I wake up again, I look over at the three alarm clocks on the nightstand. None of them are set, but they all let me know that it is 9:00 in the morning. I roll over on my back and a slight smile appears on my face. Now I only set alarm clocks as necessary. Maybe once a week? This is so unlike the days when I would have to set all alarm clocks at least five days a week. That was back during my days of being a busy and productive employee. I used to be everyone’s tax dollars at work, because I drew a paycheck from a local governmental agency. I was a licensed Social Worker which meant that I was a professional do-gooder. It was my job to poke my nose into the business of others and direct 50 staff members while I was at it. No more.

Now I am retired. Retirement. Retiring. Retired. What beautiful words. It’s not at all what I expected, but everything I hoped for. I love it.

I once met a woman who had already retired twice and she was back in the workforce.

She said, “I just ran out of things to do and got bored sitting around the house. So I decided to go back to work.” I thought she must be daft!

Writing has become my primary focus and passion now. Before it was something I did as I had the time during nights and on the weekends. Now, it is a complete endeavor that takes priority. I am working on a book, a couple of short stories, and I blog. I don’t write full time 8 hours a day, but I do write every day. I set my own schedule. I no longer solve all of the ills of society and, oh my, there are still ills to be addressed. I still care, but I care in a different way.

Now I am observing the process of retirement. At first it felt like I was on vacation and that at some point my vacation would be over and then I would return to work. I left town and traveled to Boulder, Colorado; a place I had never been before. It was beautiful and the air was so clean. I would just sit in the middle of Pearl Street Mall and look out at the mountains that surrounded the city. I fell in love with the mountain range called The Flatirons and took lots of pictures to keep the view in my memory for as long as possible.

When I returned to the heat and humidity that is Houston, I realized that this was not just an ordinary vacation. This was a whole new way of being. That was when I started to relax. Then I started to sleep. For someone who never took naps before, I napped. And then I napped some more. I would nap in the morning and I would nap in the afternoon. I would even nap in the evening before going to bed. I worried. Was I depressed? Was something wrong? Then I realized that nothing was wrong, but now I felt more relaxed and rested than I had for the past 50 years.

When I am neither writing nor sleeping, I am doing all kinds of things. One day a week a friend and I go out into the wilds of Houston and find something that we have not experienced yet. Going to an interactive exhibit at the science museum or walking through a light tunnel to enjoy the art museum are all good for starters. Since it is summer and triple digit temperatures aren’t going away any time soon, most of my activities are inside. Going to the movies during the day on a weekday is a hoot. I swear one day my friend and I were the first ones to arrive and the only patrons in the theater for about 30 minutes. I notice a lot of people with grey hair go to the movies during the day and then I realize I have my own wisp of grey hair.

I am developing a specialty in everything chocolate. I have explored and experimented with recipes involving chocolate martinis, dark chocolate, chocolate nibs and cacao. Visiting different chocolate stores for treats and local venues for chocolate martinis is just one more way to find new places for reading, writing and catching up with friends while touring the city.

As the days cool and fall arrives, I will move towards more outside activities. I will take long walks in the park, visit animals in the zoo, and walk to dinner in nearby restaurants. At the zoo I am partial to tigers and elephants. Coffee and tea houses are also high on my list for exploration. I go alone or with friends.

That is why I now smile when I wake up in the mornings and slowly make my way out to feed my cats and make my coffee. If the morning news is still on, then I will watch it. I notice that I watch more national news these days now that I am not so focused on traffic and weather reports. Just trust me if it is raining very hard or there is too much traffic, I am not going. Anywhere.