What does retirement mean to you?

Laura at Cordova Pass Overlook October 2015I have observed that there are just about as many responses to the idea of retirement as there are people. Many count the days to retirement. They see it as complete freedom, and can’t wait!

Others fear that kind of freedom. They are convinced that they need to be contributing at all times, and feel driven to continue for reasons of self-esteem and/or legacy.

I believe this has a lot to do with early brainwashing. If your parents are driven to contribute, than you may also have that driving spirit. If your parents look forward to retirement as reward for a job well done, you may too.

My family is the hard-driving type, and my siblings also feel that they have no purpose if they cannot work.

My new husband at age 50 saw things differently. Because of serious health issues, he wasn’t able to hold down a 40+ hour a week job past age 60.

When I first met Mike ten years ago I was still quite driven. I launched myself into my new writing career with my usual enthusiasm and stubbornness, convinced that I could make it big as a blogger and author.

tell negative committee to shut upOver the past ten years my attitudes have changed dramatically. Mike has convinced me that being hard on myself and driven does not lead to contentment or even a happy life. It just leads to frustration with myself and others.

At what point is it OK to give yourself a break and say,   “You are fine just the way you are.” 

I have given much thought to my feelings about myself when I die. I do not believe that I will feel any better about myself then, if I produce more books or make any more money.

My time now is mine, and I plan to spend it doing whatever I choose, not feeling driven by my fears or my ego.

who you are supposed to be

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Best of the Boomer Blogs Rides Again!

IMGP4184I am always thrilled with synchronicity in my life. So when our brand new blog carnival member Linda Myers, presented me with a post about her writing group focused on the phrase: “What do you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?” I had to go back and see what I said eleven years ago.

That phrase was presented to me in mid-midlife crisis in 2004. Here is what I answered: Become my best self, discover, honor and contribute my best skills, find more fun and meaning, while also finding right livelihood. I am so happy to say the results have been marvelous.

Remember: What you focus on grows!

Vashon IslandHere’s what Linda shares with us today on her “Thoughts of a Bag Lady in Waiting” blog: Six bloggers, me included, have been gathering for a few days in October at Lavender Hill Farm, on Vashon Island, near Seattle. This year we had a writing workshop which turned out to be more powerful than we had anticipated. Our final ten-minute write was based on the final line of a Mary Oliver Poem, “The Summer Day”: What is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?   At the end of the post there are links to the writing of the other bloggers.

Meryl Baer of Six Decades and Counting is on the road again, this week visiting family in Vermont. The route of choice is the New York Thruway, a road taken since she was a little girl. Read about her reminiscences and current trip: On the road again: The New York Thruway… 

Tom autumn trees pictureIt seems we are all waxing philosophical this time of year…Tom Sightings takes a Walk in October to see the sights, and recalls an old poem about how “The golden rod is yellow, the corn is turning brown, the trees in apple orchards with fruit are bending down.” Follow him to the end for a nice, tasty surprise! Nice sentiments Tom.

As an older adult, do you watch your salt intake? This week Rita R. Robison, On The Survive and Thrive Boomer Guide, writes about a salt shakerconsumer group taking the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to court over the agency’s failure to regulate and reduce the excess salt in our food supply. The Center for Science in the Public Interest says the FDA’s failure to reduce the sodium in packaged and other foods is contributing to tens of thousands of premature deaths annually due to stroke, heart disease, and other health problems.

IMGP4276I’ve been focused on the pure beauty of southern Colorado in the fall. Such lovely sunrises and sunsets. Life is good in retirement land….

A Good Morning in Retirement

Honestly, I cannot believe what a shutter-bug I have become since moving away from the city!

IMGP4276First thing I noticed this morning, as soon as I woke up, was the beautiful sunrise to the east of our home. We can thank the fires out west for the brilliant red hue, but this truly is a beauty!

IMGP4279Then I took a walk down below our home through a Pinyon-Juniper forest. Below is a large horse ranch. Those horses have no idea how good they have it! Or maybe they do….

IMGP4278Looking back up the hill I got a great view of our new home. Did you notice the wires running above the roof? That’s our new lightning protection system. Can’t be too careful up here!

IMGP4266Did you notice the snow up on the West Spanish Peak? Yesterday we had our first good snow storm up on the Sangre de Cristos…

IMGP4272And when the clouds cleared, we saw this!

How did I end up here, feeling so fortunate?

It’s a long story, one I can now share with you in my new memoir!

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Life among the birds, the bees and the bunnies!

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Can you spy the camouflaged bunny in the photo above?

IMGP4148Oh! There he is!

Since my last (AND FINAL!) concussion this past Tuesday, I have had the time and proper disposition to sit and look out of our south-facing doors and windows quite a bit. In this process I have observed many small bunnies crawl up through our sunflower bushes and peek in. Then they run back down the hill as fast as they can!

IMGP4114For unknown reasons, the disturbed ground around our new home has harvested hundreds of sunflower bushes, some over six feet tall! This ground cover attracts an assortment of insects and birds, especially some tiny yellow birds. The sunflowers are the perfect cover for small bugs, birds, etc.

IMGP4136Then this morning we had a new visitor, a Road Runner…up-close-and-personal! They are bigger than I thought, and quite blue when seen up close. Mike says this one seems to be following him around. I guess that explains why they are in the cuckoo family…

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I am filled with gratitude that I can now live like this forever.  Please go learn more about our move from Fort Collins to here in my new memoir and follow us on TWITTER! 

Photo credits to Mike for these great close-ups!

Reconnecting with nature

I see now that it is only by living in a suburban home for 60 years, that I can now see the difference in terms of connecting with nature.

Yes, I still live in a house, unlike my brother who lives outside all of the time, but in a place like this, nature cannot be ignored.

For example, in a passive solar home which is properly positioned to the sun, the solar heat is just now starting to edge into the south-facing windows.

Sleepy Rasta keeping warm in sept 2016Ask my pup Rasta. He loves the new sun on his dog bed. And yes, he does wear a jacket even in the summer, crazy pup.

IMGP4073Another example is the incredible sunsets we sometimes enjoy, like last evening.  At first I only noticed the nice light to the southeast of us.

IMGP4076It was still cloudy to the west, over Mount Mestas. IMGP4082Then I looked out a few minutes later to see this!


IMGP4080Now tell the truth, if this was happening right outside your door, could you really ignore it?

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Enjoying a lazy day after our second move in a year!

IMGP3962We finally have a day when we feel we can relax a bit, after moving in here last Wednesday. We are beat, and that includes Rasta on Mike’s lap!

IMGP3965There is still stuff stacked everywhere, but we are making progress, and also discovering some cool stuff we haven’t seen in over a year!

IMGP3968We are finding it strange that we have hundreds of sunflowers growing right around our new home, while they are not nearly as common in this area. IMGP3975We’ve decided to take it as a sign of favor from the great spirit… why not?

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