Today’s blog
Lynn Murphy Mark
A quiet Saturday morning
Today I slept past my usual 5 – 5:30 am wake time. It was almost 7:00 when I decided I should get up and get going. Then I remembered that I have nothing on my calendar for which to get going.
Yesterday felt like a long day at work. It wasn’t any longer than any other day but it sure seemed that way. I was anxious to get home. I thought about stopping for a bottle of wine and talked myself out of that as I drove past my little wine store. I am on Weight Watchers and, although everything is allowed on WW, wine must be like drinking sugar water because WW assigns lots of points to a tiny glass. It didn’t seem worth it.
Our friend Donna was to come over and have dinner with us and watch a movie. That is a standard Friday night “date”, where we eat, search for a movie, and settle in to watch what we’ve all agreed to select. Donna is a movie maven and usually has a list of possibilities already lined up. We picked a period piece about boxing, of all things. It was set in England in the 1800’s and based on a true story. There was a lot of testosterone in the forefront as the story about the youngest guy to become Britain’s boxing champion unfolded. A lot of male macho bravado and a lot of bloody scenes. Not sure why we picked this movie but it earned an “OK” rating from us. I missed a few scenes because I kept falling asleep…
So here it is, a free Saturday stretching ahead of me. Usually I meet my friend Rose for coffee in the morning but she is on a road trip to Michigan for two weeks. I have started my walking program again, so I do need to pencil in some time on my mental calendar. I have to make a call to my Citi credit card company – that’s too long a story to tell – but I know I will be on eternal hold before I get to a real person and solve my dilemma, hopefully. I also have to prepare a prayer for church tomorrow because I am the prayer chaplain assigned to pray with people before and after the service. I have presents to wrap for Cameron’s fifth birthday coming up in 10 days. Oh, and my Lego jeep is still not finished, so I’ll be involved with that at some point. Then there’s time for a nap. Then there’s a Cardinals game at 7:10 tonight.
Wait a minute. What happened to nothing on the calendar? I’ve just booked myself for all day activities! Frankly, I’m OK with that. I have discovered that despite being an introvert who would otherwise love a whole uninterrupted day to ponder life, I need structure in my day. Being at loose ends makes me a little anxious…
I remember the first week after I retired from nursing. I had no plans, on purpose, thinking that I would just lounge around and do nothing after 50+ years of being a working woman. Days one and two were ok, but by day three I was not ok. I began to wonder what my purpose would turn out to be going forward. Sitting around the house was just not going to cut it!
Whenever a friend is getting ready to retire I have one piece of advice: “Make sure you have a plan, or are working on a plan, for what do to with yourself when you no longer have to punch a clock every day!” It is astonishing how many hours open up when one steps across the line into retirement.
For me, retirement brought a whole new career as I immersed myself in the world of immigration law. I wonder what will come if I ever “retire” from this endeavor?