Friday, February 21, 2014

Retirement is hard work

Back in the day when I was still working, I thought it would be HEAVEN when I didn't have to get up every morning, paste on a smile, and drive with the other crazies through ice...  and sleet...  and snow....  and rain...  and heat....  and humidity...  (you get the picture) to go to work. 

It wasn't that I didn't like my job.  I LOVED what I did.  I LOVED the peeps I worked with.  and that's all I have to say about that.

The day came when my health caused an avalanche of issues that resulted in multiple doctors telling me that I MUST take some time off.  I fought tooth and nail because, even though I complained about working...  well, see paragraph 2.  I was even cancelling dates with the girls as I just didn't feel well.

I was off for a while...  then went back to work. 

Unsuccessfully. 

Off a longer period of time... tried working again.  hmmm.  I wanted to return to work.  I didn't want to NOT work.  But is was not going well and I was off work again.  (with the doctors doing the "I told you so, I told you so" dance RE: Will and Grace).

Fast forward to being on medical leave for 2 years and still, no doctor wanting me to go back to work.  <sigh>  And DH was on the doctors' side too!

I decided that maybe I better listen.  I hoped there was a plan for me.  So I retired.

I whined and cried about my 'career' being taken away from me but, over time, I settled down and got kind of comfortable with resting when I was tired and while I never really felt great, I felt human most of the time. 

To keep from going stir crazy during the adjustment period from working to retired, I went back to the sewing machine.   I hadn't really felt much like quilting in a long time.   But without the demands of a job, quilting was great!

I forced myself to do outside activities and schedule events to maintain a social life - but all the time still praying that I would feel up to doing them.  As time goes on, my issues evened out a bit and I could better predict how my body would react to stimuli and just how much I could do without taxing it too much.

Today (not literally, of course), I have outside events to which I have committed and there is always light housework and yard work to do, plus I have more quilts on my 'want to do' list than I could do in a hundred lifetimes.

While I am a fairly happy girl, I feel like I am more busy than when I worked.  How can that be?  DH and I have even resorted to having a bi-monthly date night to make sure we share some quality time with each other.  Whoda thunk?  

I still have to cancel things now and then, but I am making it to most of my commitments.  And while I miss the satisfaction I received when I was working and I miss the people I worked with, I have made some wonderful new friends because of this transition.... and I am smiling much more these days.  

But I do seem to have a lot to do....  what happened to all that free time I thought I would have?

Give yourself permission to do what makes you happy.




2 comments:

  1. Well you are certainly starting to look younger in your photos!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. thank you Brandi! You know that DH takes great care of me!

      Delete