Saturday, 8/14/04, was the kind of day that retirement is all about. Of course, Phil and I were full of good intentions, then early in the afternoon, just as we were settling down to go to work (you know ... that infamous four letter word), Gloria and Les stopped by on their way to a lunch to see if we wanted to join them. Well, we had eaten our breakfast/lunch at about 11:30 am so we really weren't hungry ... so ... Les went to work (there's that word again) helping Phil get the subfloor started while Gloria and I sat in the air-conditioned motorhome catching up on each other's latest happenings and newest plans for the near future. They delayed eating until Phil and I were ready for an early dinner and we all went to our local Denny's for a delicious and inexpensive meal. After eating, we came back to the motorhome where we enjoyed visiting for a couple hours then we had a little snack of cantaloupe and vanilla ice cream (for Les and Phil), just cantaloupe (for me) and sugar free Jello with Kool Whip (for Gloria who is on the L. A. Weight Loss Program), and, doing really well I might add.
What a wonderful day! What a wonderful life! We are retired ... we have time to do what has to be done ... we have no pressure unless we choose to impose it upon ourselves ... and we can change directions ~ plans ~ ideas ~ options ~ on a moments notice or even a whim, whichever the case may be. Life is good!
After writing about our perfect Saturday ... Sunday, August 15th was every bit as terrific and equally spontaneous. My precious aunts (my mother's sisters) two special ladies that I adore showed up at our house unannounced to see the progress of the renovation work Phil is doing and get the grand tour of our new home on wheels. After looking both over, we received their very welcome seal of approval then after visiting for an hour or so, we all decided to go to our local casino, called "Little Creek" on the Squaxin Reservation just ten miles south of town for a late lunch/early dinner. This establishment is very "Senior Friendly" (as are most native American casinos) with a 20% discount which we really appreciate. While we waited for our table (it's a very busy place) Phil took a stroll through the casino and found daughter, Bobbie playing the penny slots (he had seen her car in the parking garage) and invited her to join us. We had a great meal with non-stop visiting between bites and when Phil and I decided we'd better head for home we left my aunties in the care of Bobbie who was preparing to take them out on the floor to do a little gambling. I hope Luck was a Lady ... and they won!
We had received a call from Randy earlier so on the way home we stopped at his house and picked up the desktop computer with new hard drive installed. I also picked up the paperwork and the dead hard drive so we can return it for replacement on warranty for him. Again, he assured me that I can begin learning how to do some technical (to me) stuff while we are still in town so he can help me if I hit a glitch ... HA! Stay tuned ...
Soon after getting back to the house, Gloria and Les came by and Les pitched in (as usual) and helped Phil finish laying the subfloor so ... IT'S DONE! We celebrated by going downtown for a snack after which the guys went to Wal*Mart for worms 'cause they decided it was time for a fishing trip the next day on Monday. Note: Phil caught a beautiful trout (18" long--weighing about 3# ... see picture) and brought it home ... usually he catches and releases but this one was perfectly sized for a fish dinner.
On Monday evening, Les invited us to a tasty pork chop dinner followed by a couple hours of stimulating conversation about our favorite subject ... "How to survive as a senior citizen in the style we would like to become accustomed to." or "Will we outlive our money?" Always a lively discussion. Most of my adult life has involved being careful with my money but when you become a senior citizen, on a fixed income, watching your pennies becomes a full time job! The rest of our week was fairly uneventful with Phil working on the house every day and the two of us enjoying our evenings in the motorhome ... pretending we're out of here and on the road! One of my favorite quotes:
Sidhartha Gautama said, "Living is like boarding a ship that sails out into the ocean ... and sinks! The trick--is to enjoy the voyage."
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