Retirement

Retirement - just the word makes it sound as if you are ready for bed. It took me a while to really consider retiring from a job I loved. I felt that my Husband (who had already been retired for several years) and I would have a lot more time for travel to places we had not been before. That has not really been the case. I have found that we are more comfortable going to the same place we have been going for years. Lake Tahoe. We also travel to Orlando/Kissimmee for Disney and Universal and the other Parks - We have not yet gone back to Tampa for the Busch Gardens but expect to during the Fall or Spring. It is hot in Florida but I have found that We have it much better than even some States up North. We have the humidity which makes it seem much hotter than it is but at least there is moisture in the air. I remember many years ago being in the desert in Arizona visiting Family. I went for a walk with my two young nieces and barely made it back to the house. It was terrible. But I digress - Retirement comes with many options and many ups and downs - it all depends on the money you retire with and whether or not you are inclined to help out your Children with their finances. I am Blessed that my Daughter is quite self-sufficient - My Son, Who has four Children, has needed us far more than My Daughter has needed us. Savings dwindle and without increases in my Pension or my Husband's Social Security, we find that we must count our pennies which I did not think would happen at this stage of our lives. I wish now that I had waited maybe five more years before retiring. That would have been easier had I not had a supervisor who was biased and self-centered. My decision to retire (as well as many others who have retired since this person became the supervisor) was primarily based on the unprofessional actions of this manager - what a shame. But it was ultimately my decision. I could have waited it out, I suppose, but I prefer to be happy and working under this supervisor was pure torture. I feel so sorry for the folks who still work there. Managers should not be rewarded for bad behaviour but that was what happened in this case. Our office changed drastically upon this manager's appointment to the position. One of the most intelligent and able employees left ten years before she wanted because of this manager. Our Government needs to change the way they promote from within each agency. But again, I digress. Being retired means we can sleep late, watch TV all day, get up during the middle of the night and go to an all-night-open restaurant and get an early breakfast. See our Grandchildren more - take them on trips to places they have never been and to places they love to go again and again. Sleep all day during rainy days or really cold days. Clean out closets that have been multiplying clothes year after year. Get that 'junk drawer' organized. Visit old friends you haven't seen in a long time. Take long and leisurely baths without worrying about what you will be wearing to work the next day. Wash clothes any day of the week. Shop anytime you want. Travel when you want. Play on the computer without guilt. Yes, retirement, if You can afford it, is Great. It does not mean You are giving up living, it means You are starting to 'really' Live for the first time in your life. No 'Ogre' for a Manager, no deadlines, no waiting for the week-end. Every Day is your weekend - I pray for the Manager Who stays in the position for the power and the pure love of making others miserable. I would imagine that anyone Who wants to make Others miserable must be a very unhappy person, don't you think?

Current Events

I have been receiving a lot of information lately about the Muslim influence on our World - it frightens me because I am a Christian - It is funny but I feel close to the Jewish Religion because they also believe in our Loving God - I am not frightened by the Hindu Religion although they believe entirely differently from the way we do because I see them as Peaceful - I am frightened by a People who believe so radically differently from us that the women in their Circle are treated like third or fourth rate Citizens - because they believe that violence is needed to spread their Word - I look back at our own History and realize that we have had many wars dedicated to over-throwing other Countries in the name of Christianity - I have so many questions but cannot find any real answers - Everyone I discuss this with has a different opinion - many folks believe as I do because they are Family and Friends but others have different ideas as to what we should be concerned with - I worry that our President leans towards the Muslim Religion but only because I have read many articles that are written about him in that light -I don't want our Country to go back to the days when Women and Blacks were treated badly but I do wish that we had more structure in our system these days - We did have it when I was growing up, albeit, so much injustice in many areas - there has to be a happy medium where we can all get along with each other - Utopia? I think not but we could start with looking deeply into our Hearts and seeing what is there -