Friday, September 14, 2012

Interesting wrinkle

We just took our first trip since I retired. The details are somewhat of a tangent. We went to Phoenix for our granddaughter's 14th birthday. Taylor was born with Down Syndrome, developed autism, juvenile diabetes and is blind as a result of her uncontrolled glaucoma. She is housebound and requires 24/7 care as she is also non-verbal, not potty-trained and is unable to feed herself. With the help of a local charity we were able to raise all but $7,000 to build a backyard pool, which will be used for therapy, family time and an opportunity for Taylor to have fresh air and exercise. Most of our visit there was spent preparing for a pool party to thank local contributors.

I came back with the persistent expectation of returning to work. Not sure what that was about--have I been "on vacation" psychologically and the end of a trip signaled "back to work"? Is it the start of the school year, which always meant that fun and games were over? Is it that I am needing to launch the survey for my book and have some real tasks to do? Or was it something about seeing my son and his wife's everyday reality compared to the pure leisure I've been experiencing? Not sure, but something definitely shifted and the reality of being retired is sinking in a little deeper and I am feeling a need for the first time to set some kind of routine.

The focus of this blog is on the process of defining normal in retirement. I thought I had it nailed only to discover that I still have some defining to do. What I am discovering, which will also help me with my writing or coaching of retirees, is that this is truly a life stage based on improvisation. The first for me. The shift has me thinking again about how what I am learning might help others while the last two months has truly been a mental pause and needed R & R.

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