Week 2 in Review

Organization is moving along quite well. Most of the kitchen has been cleaned and straightened. There are 2 cabinets remaining which I will work on next week.

Health is a bit slower... Will work for improvement!

Objective 3 Education Thursday 1/14/2010

Today has been very exciting! In pursuit of a different life, it seemed like education wouldn't be a bad idea. While I am taking this time to explore new paths, I have the time to seek information that may be useful later and that I find interesting. In this search, I have discovered that when you turn 60, you can attend classes, undergraduate or graduate, at Wisconsin Universities free of charge. Upon investigating this, I have step by slow step, gathered information, submitted applications, sought permission from instructors, contacted the Registrar, and the Academic Advisor, learned Parking Restrictions, visited the Admissions Office, toured the campus, purchased books from the bookstore and been registered as a student of the University of Wisconsin, Whitewater. Classes start Tuesday and after all it took to get there, now the adventure really starts and questions arise; how will it feel being surrounded by young students, and how will they feel about me being there, will I be able to grasp and retain the information, can I complete the work? It has been 37 years since I attended college.

I feel the only way to get answers to these questions is to make the attempt. Surely something will be gained from the effort even if I don't complete the courses, but I would not like to fail the attempt. Again I go into the great unknown, this whole experience of retirement seems like jumping off a cliff into the great unknown, but isn't that just what does make an adventure? And isn't that what courage really is, if you know the outcome you don't need courage to go into the experience. So I shall try and see what comes of it, I will be fearless and take a deep breath as I enter!

Progress

Work has started in the kitchen... Found several items from 2008 that were disposed of! I am sleeping in later and staying up later which is progress also. I have also found that I only need to cook something every other day, if I make two meals. This saves time and clean up. Anyway the finished cabinet looks like this now.

Week 2 Objectives

1. Organization
Since the laundry room area project became such a large task, this week's organization objective will be smaller. Clean out and organize the coffee and cereal kitchen cupboard.

2. Health
Start walking on the treadmill! Some how I need to make getting some exercise a part of my daily routine.

First Week in Review

Wednesday was my usual work day off, so it only felt correct to take the day off from my retirement. Just a joke! My routine was broken though by a doctor appointment. Everything checked out OK and meds were renewed.

Thursday and Friday was spent on the organization of the laundry area downstairs. Unfortunately one job just seems to lead to another and this job seemed to spread upstairs, requiring the cleaning out of drawers to put folded clothes away, cleaning out closets, ironing and rearranging, then moving garment bags, and finally clearing out a storage space for all the unwanted items that were in the laundry area and are now in the rummage sale area. This first job turned into a major challenge that has taken a week to complete! Not an inspiring event if all the projects end up being this time consuming.

I am still waking up early even though I try to stay up later, I still wake up pretty early and just get tired earlier. I think I will just go to bed at my usual time and get well rested first, then try to shift down a little at a time.

Saturday and Sunday seemed like very normal weekend days, worked on a few fun projects as well as the laundry area, until tonight when I realized I didn't have to get ready for work the next day! What a treat! However temporary this ends up being, I really am very lucky to have the opportunity!

Adjustments

Although it has only been a couple of days into this retirement, it seems I continue to wake up at my former alarm time in the morning. I awake, look at the clock, roll over and immediately go back to sleep. Then, I awaken again just about the time I would be pulling in the parking lot at work, smile and sigh contentedly. My next thought is to eagerly rise to get started on my project for the day.

The organization seems to be going slowly, but I knew it would be a time consuming project, which is why I never started it in the first place, while I was working. At the end of the day I get tired and quit about 6pm. I am saving on the time I used to spend driving, but am spending more time on meal preparation for both lunch and dinner, but that is a benefit in two ways. What I make is healthier and less expensive. So far retirement is good!

Objectives

There are several goals I wish to accomplish during this time away from work. They include:
1. Organization
There are many projects I would have loved to complete over the years, that have either been abandoned or never attempted due to lack of time. Now is the time to start with a complete overhaul of our house to clear clutter saved over the past 26 years. We really do have a lot of storage space, but it is filled to over capacity. I need to remove what I don't use which will allow me to have accessible the things I really use.
2. Health
Over the years it has felt like a tug of war between the things I needed to do and the things I wanted to do. Finding balance has always been a challenge. Focus has had to fade on some areas when a more pressing need surfaced. Now with a less demanding schedule, the focus is placed on giving the attention to areas that are necessary and can be put off no longer.
These two areas will get priority. When they become regulated, more areas will be addressed.
Tomorrow starts Week 1