The Good Life

Old friends rolled into town the other night and took us out for dinner. I first met Ray and Diane more than thirty-five years ago when I was a rookie teacher. We all taught in the same geography department. Ray retired before I, but Diane keeps on teaching. She looks at me in stupefaction wondering what I could possibly find to do with myself now that I don't have to punch a clock, and I gaze back with a similar look on my countenance — stupefaction. I wonder how anyone could prefer working to pursuing one's interests at one's leisure.

Well, we're all different. Some people don't exactly seem to have a plethora of interests, but a lot of things interest me. Although I am mediocre in most pursuits that I put my hand to, I, nevertheless, enjoy the exploration. For the most part, these were not things that I planned to do when I first retired. Oh, I did have some ideas. Some I pursued; some I have yet to take up; some I may never follow up on because interests and goals do tend to alter over time. The point is that although I may not know what they are yet there are many, many interesting things awaiting me out there.

I continue to wonder why Diane cannot fathom what she will ever do with her time when she does hang 'em up because I can't seem to find the time to do everything that I'd like to do. I can testify that retirement has been a wonderful experience for me. In many ways, these are the best days of life, the most appreciated perhaps, which may be the same thing.