Decisions, Decisions

It seems retirement is all about decisions. Yes, before we retired, we made decisions when we worked and parented and participated in our House on the Creek community, but the retirement decisions seem somehow different. They are, thus far, all about us. Our first decision was what to do on our first Monday of non-work: should we set the alarm, awaken, and then snuggle down, drifting into and out of sleep to the voices of the people on our favorite morning radio show, or should we avoid setting the alarm? We opted to sleep in. The Cat, of course, had to be fed, but MamaBear found she could get up, feed the cat, and return to sleep quite quickly.

A second decision we are facing is how structured our days should be. Do we want to arise and plan our day or make a schedule and try to stay with it? For example, we know retirees who do exercise on certain days at certain times, with scheduled volunteer work on other days at other times and hobbies at specific times, too. Or do we want to plan each day as it comes, keeping our goals and to-do's in mind? Thus far, with the goal of preparing the House on the Creek for its summer inhabitants and preparing ourselves to journey to the House on the Cove, we have had our list of to-do's in front of us, and selected what to do each day from it.

As we consider what we will do after we arrive at the House on the Cove, there are many to-do's on our list that will need to be accomplished and the list is growing (the list is to help us make the House on the Cove more "us") and then what? Should I offer my work gratis to a local restaurant that shops local and prepares a fabulous tasty new menu each day based on what they can purchase and prepare that day so that I can learn how to do that? For this summer, that approach seems too structured. However, I (MamaBear) will have to set aside time to study anatomy, to do a "large" (for me) painting, re-read some writings I have done and do some new ones, and contemplate how to put them into a short book (likely self-published ...) There needs, for me, to be time for exercise (walk-to-run, running a lot), some weights, some biking, some hiking. I need to find a faith community, and perhaps a place to do learn how to do yoga. There are friends to visit, a hair dresser to find ... so much to do, but, being retired, I know there will be time.

Our journey begins soon; we have much to do - we have been sorting (more decisions - what needs to go, what stays) and cleaning, still need to pack. The Cat is very curious about her stuff going into boxes. I do hope this adventure is not too stressful for her. She tends to be a trooper, so my guess is that she will be fine. As will we. Retirement is so much fun, even with all its decisions.