It is not my intention to write a holiday newsletter sounding kind of thing, but it may seem a little like that. I don't expect many people to read this anyway, but...
Now that we're in the retirement phase (or maybe semi-retirement phase) of life, things have slowed down a little bit. Sleeping a little later in the morning has become our new normal. Naps happen sometimes. Getting a lot of things done in one day has become not normal. Having a list of just one or two essential tasks/errands to accomplish in the course of a day seems much more reasonable.
With the slowing down, we seem to be able to enjoy different things and enjoy some of the same things differently. Before retirement, I could feel myself growing less and less patient with bank tellers, people in front of me in line at the local grocery store, other drivers on the road, you name it. Since retirement (and maybe I'm fooling myself here), I feel that I am more relaxed and less stressed. Less prone to road rage, for example.
Being retired means that we have more time to do the kinds of things that we might have not had time for in the past. Road trips, for example.
Just a few weeks ago I was looking at the calendar and realized that we would most likely be in Mexico for a lot of the rest of 2023. Like maybe from mid-August until January 2024. Maybe. I started thinking about the people in our lives that we might want to make an effort to go see and visit with a little bit. We talked about this and decided that a good old road trip might be in order. a day or two here, a day or two there, a few days somewhere else. We came up with a tentative schedule (with the idea that we would keep it loose, flexible). We sent our loved ones whom we hoped to see along the way a copy of that schedule and hoped that we'd be able to see some precious friends and family.
I won't bore you with our day-by-day travel diary, but I will say that we had a really good time.
Some of the folks we got to see we hadn't seen in a while. Nieces and nephews in Texas and Oklahoma have all grown up and started families of their own. They are all working hard and raising beautiful children in the most thoughtful and caring ways. They are doing all kinds of cool adult things like buying houses and planning family vacations. At one stop, we were taught a few tricks of the parenting trade about getting a child to go to bed at bedtime. (It was pretty amazing.)
Aunts and uncles are still as sweet and smart and kind as they ever were. They're staying busy and active. Some are still working (because they love what they do) and some are doing volunteer work at their churches. When I asked Aunt Linda if we might come by her house in Arkansas, she immediately said, "I'll fix y'all lunch." I told her she didn't need to fix us anything and that we didn't want to be any trouble, she came back with, "I'd be happy to." She also advised me to tell my brother Larry that she would be providing lunch, saying, "Food will get him here." She was right. When we got to her place Larry was there, and Aunt Linda had the kitchen counters covered with food - casseroles, side dishes, desserts, everything. It looked like a Thanksgiving dinner for 20 people. We enjoyed a great meal and a great visit.
Visiting with some cherished college friends (who now work in a college/university setting) gave us a chance to catch up on each others' lives and to learn about some of the trends in higher education these days. Here's something: A professor was teaching a class one day and heard a student's cell phone ringing. The student answered the call and started having a conversation. The professor asked the student to put the phone away. The student said, "It's my mom." The professor, concerned, said, "Is everything okay? Is there an emergency?" "No," the student replied, "she just wanted to see what I was doing." Colleges and universities have professionals these days whose job is to facilitate "Parental Engagement." Parental Engagement - to my understanding - is to try to help the parents to distance themselves enough from their children that they can have a full college experience without unnecessary interruption. I may have not gotten all of that exactly right, but that's the gist of it. We were taken aback, remembering our own college experiences. Back then we rarely called home. It was long distance. (I know. Long distance. What's that?)
The last stop on our road trip was at a lake outside of Sulphur Springs, Texas. We got there on July 3, and were welcomed with a big ol' fish fry and homemade ice cream. The fish fry and ice cream business was happening anyway - that wasn't just for us - but our timing was great. Everything was delicious, and hanging out at the lake was relaxing and peaceful. There was a good amount of fishing going on, and a fair amount of corn hole playing. Eleven children (from 5 to 15) enjoyed a bounce house with a waterslide and inflatable pool. A good time was had by all.
We did come away from our road trip with one big regret though. We took no pictures. We have to try to get better at doing that. We had a great time and we have great memories, but it would be nice to be able to scroll through pictures and relive some of those moments.
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