Today is my husband Art's last day at work. He is having hand surgery tomorrow morning to relieve the pain of arthritis in his thumb. After recovery and physical therapy he will be retiring at age 67. Art has been an electrical worker for 40 years. He has called me twice today - an unusual occurrence indeed - to tell me about going out to breakfast AND lunch with his crew, and how his supervisor said goodbye. There will be a retirement party in May, but today is the Last Day.

The Bag Lady is quiet today. She honors Art's career and his readiness to trade in past years of paid service to the local community for upcoming years of volunteer service, traveling, gardening, reading and learning - for whatever sounds like a good idea. And I have a "honey do" list in my head for the upcoming weeks during his recovery from surgery - the only requirement for a task is that Art not need his left hand to do it. For a couple of months, probably.

Our current budget has a line item for the gym ($52 a month for the two of us) and an item for circuit training ($120 a month for the two of us). This morning I checked out Senior Sneakers, a conditioning/fitness/strength training program offered at our local rec center for people over 60. It will be free for Art on Medicare and $3 a session for me. If we do the program three days a week - walking the two miles to the rec center and then back home - we'll be able to maintain and improve our fitness for much less money, and we'll have trainers and instructors who specialize in working with people 60 and over.

A good idea, I think. There was a time when I would have shied away from "senior" activities, but two years ago I ruptured my Achilles tendon working out with a young personal trainer. Maybe it was just a coincidence, but I think he might have overestimated the strength and elasticity of a 59-year-old Achilles tendon doing a lunge. Art and I want to stay active and fit, but using good judgment. So Senior Sneakers may be a good solution for us.