March 28, 2024

Retirement Sundays & Radio Cooking

Posted on July 2, 2015 by in EdNote

I had lunch last week with two sweet friends, both approaching retirement and an end to their formal careers. Employees of a K-12 school they love, one is a chief administrator, the other the liaison between graduates and their alma mater. It was a wonderful, upbeat conversation, as my friends anticipated their happy, albeit significant life change, and I related my experiences as the oh-so-“seasoned” veteran retiree — of exactly one year.

Retirement is my happy place.  After 30+ years of planning, scheduling, meeting, going, and doing, it is wonderful to wake up without an alarm, drink morning coffee on the patio, and engage in thoughtful discussions with my husband, ranging from the state of world affairs to the blooms on my hibiscus (though admittedly, the latter is pretty much a monologue.)

The freedom of creating my own schedule provides the single greatest thrill in my post 9-to-5 world. Wanna paint? After lunch is perfect. Not up for battling a long grocery line? I’ll go in the morning. Need help with the grandkids? I’m there.

That’s not to say it’s been smooth sailing all the way. Surprisingly, the unfettered schedule took a little getting used to. Retirement has its own rhythms, and like most everything in this modern worId, I had to sync-up to its peculiarities.

Unplanned adventures are a sublime delight of retirement. The rigidity of the Monday through Friday work schedule conditions us to relegate recreation to weekend blocks, or maybe a once-a-year vacation. No more. These days it tickles me to take a midweek, overnight romp to Florida. (And the idea that we can extend a trip by a day or more — without consulting anyone— is sheer, unadulterated bliss.)

I’m lucky because my work with Prime fulfills a need to stay significant, relevant, plugged-in. Smack dab in the middle of our target audience, I’m always on the lookout for valuable information, good stories (and writers) and things to share about this post-50 life. Rather than a chore, contributing to the magazine, instead, enriches my life in retirement (or rather, semi-retirement). 

The biggest surprise of not working a 9-5, Monday through Friday schedule? How wonderful Sunday afternoons and nights truly are. No more last minute grocery shopping to plan suppers and lunches for a week. No more rush to clean and iron my clothes. Prep needed for upcoming work challenges? I don’t think so.

My challenges these days are the ones I choose. What flavor of ice cream shall my grandchildren and I make together? Do we swim before or after the nap? What book will spark squeals of delight as we climb on the sofa together for a much-needed story break?

The years of hard work, the long hours, and the stressful times are a fleeting recollection these days. Life is too full of today.

Who’s up for homemade ice cream?

NOTE:  The third of three recipes recorded by Prime’s Editor will be broadcast July 15 on Troy Public Radio, between noon and 12:30 p.m. July’s recipe is Peasant Moussaka, handed down from her grandmother, who was born on the Greek island of Chios (pictured below).

Troy Public Radio is heard on the following stations: WTSU 89.9 Montgomery/Troy; WRWA 88.7 Dothan; WTJB 91.7 Columbus, GA/Phenix City, AL.

Fishing village harbor on the island of Chios, Greece.

Fishing village harbor on the island of Chios, Greece.

 

Sandra Polizos, Editor

Sandra Polizos, Editor

Sandra Polizos, Editor

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