Saturday, September 10, 2011

Where did the time go?

It's not just that it's been nine days since I last posted a blog.  It's that time has gone fast everywhere!

How did I get to have an 11-year-old granddaughter with her own Facebook page, where she posts my picture as her grandmother?

How did I go to the pharmacy to ease the seasonal allergies that swells my Eustachian tubes and tell the pharmacist I found a med that worked 30 years ago, and have her tell me they don't make that product any more?

How did I get to have hair so gray that my hairdresser says it looks better now that there's not so much of my natural dark brown left in it?

How did it happen that when I made zucchini bread this week I realized it had been 20 years since I last baked it?

On the other hand, current time can be very sweet.

We're having a September heat wave in the Pacific Northwest.  It will be close to 90 degrees today, with low humidity and over 12 hours of sunshine.  How fortunate for all the garden's tomatoes, striving mightily to ripen before the cool fall weather begins and the green ones get stored in paper bags to ripen in darkness instead of sunshine.

Now that my granddaughter has her own Facebook page, I can communicate with her directly.  Yesterday she requested a picture of our cat "so I can show my mom what Larisa looks like".  She's a twin, and the other granddaughter doesn't have a FB page yet, so I get to have an online relationship with this one girl apart from her twin.  Always a lovely opportunity!

I luxuriated in a three-day read of Ann Patchett's new book "State of Wonder" without concern for reading into the night because I don't have to get up to go to work in the morning.

I attended my first mediation observation this week - one of six I have to do before I take my first practical exam in the process of becoming a certified mediator - and was able to sign up for a session in the middle of the day because my days are my own now.

We had a couple staying with us via the Evergreen Club, and we'll be able to visit them in January, in their community south of Tucson, because we'll already be in Sedona for two weeks anyway, and we have no restrictions on when we need to get back.

I note with pleasure that, when doing plank exercises to strengthen my core and my back, I can now hold the position for 45 seconds rather than the 30 seconds I started out with.  The personal trainer says I don't have to come back until I'm at two minutes.  I think I may actually get there - and in the two weeks I've been doing this I haven't missed a day.

I figured out how to create multiple calendars, with different colors, on my online iCal calendar.  I see my days are busy, and that's a good thing.

We have almost enough miles on our credit card to buy two tickets to Quito, Ecuador for a February visit.  We may even be able to fly on Alaska Airlines and its affiliate LAN to enhance our chance as MVP flyers of getting a first class upgrade.

Most especially, when I started this blog in January of 2010, I called it "Thoughts from a Bag Lady in Waiting" because, before I stopped working, I was scared I'd be a bag lady.  Somehow, in the 14 months since I quit my job, that fear has been removed.  Time does work wonders!












22 comments:

Meryl Baer said...

Great work on the plank position. I am attempting to build up my strength and flexibility, and it's not easy - these old bones and body resist, especially new positions - like plank - I haven't done in ages, if ever...I am in awe of your totally involved schedule!

Rita said...

Time has been flying by this whole year for me. The older I get it seems like decades are flying by. I can't remember the last time I made my zucchini bread, but I know it's been years. My son will be 37 in November. I was 60 this year. Thanks to family genetics I don't have any grey hairs yet, but I often walk like a 90 year old--LOL! But--11 year olds with facebook pages? Hard to wrap my mind around. Enjoy! ;)

#1Nana said...

Lately I've been oblivious to time. If I didn't get a daily newspaper I probably wouldn't know what day it was. I worry about being in an accident and being asked that question and not having an answer. I can't wait for my granddaughters to have an online presence...I hope they'll still want to talk to Nana.

Lynilu said...

I'm glad to hear the bag lady fear has dissipated. Living under that is stressful. I go through it from time to time, but I'm essentially OK. It's just the months that car insurance hits at the same time as other once-in-a-while-big-expenses arise. It's always OK, but I tense up, nonetheless.

Glad to hear that your strengthening is working! Good for you for being so dedicated and steady in your exercises!!

Terra said...

I can tell you are enjoying life and not having that push of a work schedule. I agree with you, and also, time seems to fly by faster now. How cool that your granddaughter has a FB page.

Sally Wessely said...

This was quite a reflective piece. Where does the time go? You seem to use your time staying very busy. that is a good thing. It is always a joy to read your blog.

Nancy/BLissed-Out Grandma said...

This is a great post, celebrating your freedom, your recent accomplishments, your relationship with a granddaughter, and the fact that you are NOT a bag lady! I know what you mean about time flying, but I'm not going to complain. Better to be busy than bored, right?

Tom said...

I was at the beach last week and met a new friend -- a nine-month old girl and her two parents. I told them my story about the day I took my baby girl for a walk on the beach in Ocracoke. And boy, did that make me wonder, how did my little girl get to be 28 years old?

Arkansas Patti said...

Really think you need to change the name of your blog. Bag lady or even bored lady are no where in your schedule.
Keep it up and enjoy the lack of time limits.

DJan said...

Oh, please don't change the name of your blog, it was what brought me here in the first place! Don't we all worry a little bit about that? I am one of the few in your commenters who has gotten to meet you in person, and I'm still impressed with all you have accomplished in "retirement." I'll be at Snohomish tomorrow jumping with the Gang, then hiking all day Monday. Life for me is also pretty dang full!

Beth said...

Time is passing so quickly for me as I grow older.

You have been a very busy lady. Good job on the flank position.

Akannie said...

Linda--Thanks for stopping by my blog...you are an ambitious and busy woman!

Loved reading about your plans and am really hoping you will motivate me to get a move on! lol

Have a wonderful Sunday!

Grandmother Mary said...

You've made your life full and productive in retirement- brava! Nice job with the plank- it's a corker but so good for our core strength. I worked with a personal trainer who had an expertise working with seniors and she taught me lots. As for keeping up with your grands- oh yes!

Dee said...

You've done so much, Linda, since your retirement. I started reading your blog this summer about the time you passed the mediation exam and I so enjoy your reflective musings. They make me aware of my own days and the events that fill them--some large, some small. Some cherished, some worrisome.

I know, too, the bag-lady fear. I am so grateful for Social Security and the annuity I get.

Please keep your name--it's a reminder of just how grateful I can be for the abundance of my life.

Peace.

Olga said...

You do retirement proud, busy lady.

Dr. Kathy McCoy said...

Time does go by so quickly, doesn't it? I'm still surprised at times when I catch a glimpse of myself in the mirror and see white hair! I'm so glad you've settled into retirement and are free of the bag lady fantasies! I had those, too, and it's such a relief to be both free and solvent! Good for you, Linda!

Out on the prairie said...

Time cures all it sounds. I have to take time to become serious with my life sometimes, but mostly play hard. I have been home for 3 days and it makes me feel a bit restless, but then content to be in my own bed.

Murr Brewster said...

Oh god. The only thing sucky about being old enough to be retired is being that much closer to dead. Everything else is peaches and cream.

Rosie said...

I don't think you have time to be a bag lady. It all sounds good!

Jenny Woolf said...

Funny how we perceive our lives differently as well as time differently, when we get older. I'm glad you're happy, I bet you wouldn't want to go back to work now! :)

Sandi said...

HI Linda! You know, it's reading blogs like yours that make me really look forward to retirement! I want to be busy and happy, just like you. And I love that you are involved in mediation, as that is such a worthy endeavor! Bless you for that!

Jeanie said...

Your descriptions of retirement make me more eager than ever to get there. The truth is I go back and forth on it, but you make it seem very attractive.