Today marks one year since Michael retired and we began our sabbatical year. As we sit with coffee this morning, that day feels much longer than one year ago. We love the life we live today. Getting here was not always easy, but we are grateful for all of it.
Adjusting to life with no alarm clock and a calendar that belonged only to us took a while to feel comfortable. Both of our worlds changed. Neither of us readily embraces change, though we are learning. The freedom we wanted did not come with instructions for using it well, and finding new routines we could both live with took intention. We both looked forward to more time together. Making room for time apart, so we could stay the people we had been for years, took real work.
The Time We Most Treasure
The time with our family has been the treasure of the year. We are free to visit for a day or several days without counting vacation time. Cousins Camp was one of those events we always talked about and never managed, until we finally put it on the calendar. Our five Littles who we share life with were all here for four amazing days in August. It took planning and a lot of energy. There was a lot of extra laundry for muddy clothes after creek mishaps, fun food we all prepared together, lessons on setting a proper table and how to safely start a campfire. The evenings were filled with giggles and bedtime tuck ins. Together we spent time learning about Jesus and about our family story. The camp lasted only four days. It created a lifetime of cherished memories for this Grandpa and Grandma.
We planned our travel around the visits and camp days as much as we could. Even so, a few birthdays landed while we were away, so we are choosing differently next year. Venice has stood for sixteen centuries, and it will continue to wait until the candles numbering 11, 9, 8 (twice), and 7 go out. We want to spend longer stretches in Minnesota, so we found a vacation rental with room for us, four girls and one boy. Staying with our adult children is wonderful, but being Grandma and Grandpa out from under the watchful eyes of moms and dads appeals to us too.
The Time We Traveled
We were away from home five months of the past twelve. Some of that travel took us to family and friends. We spent the rest in places that stretched my understanding of the world, and I am better for it. Michael traveled extensively during his career and moves through airports with confidence, while I am still earning mine. I can, however, still find places he has never been, so we get to discover them together.
Our first trip as retirees took us to Bonaire in November, with no Monday morning work day waiting at the other end. We headed to the Southeast and the Atlantic coast right after the new year, where we found a cuisine we truly enjoyed and rekindled a friendship we had missed for several years. March brought New Orleans and the Patton symposium, where I learned more about the Third Army than I ever planned to, and Michael met members of the General’s family and came home with even more books on the subject. June took us to Cozumel with our friends, and we came home closer than when we left.
Our twentieth wedding anniversary found us in Italy during a three week trip starting in Rome, through the vineyards of Tuscany and Piedmont, and ending on the Ligurian Sea in Sistri Levante. We determined Barolo is our favorite red.
Scotland gave us twelve days of some sun and more rain. Three days were spent aboard the Belmond Royal Scotsman, tasted a few drams of whisky, and fell in love with the beauty of the Highlands and the Hebrides. We came home with real appreciation for a people who have carried a difficult history and remain generous and hospitable just the same. Michael also rolled down the road on his motorcycle for two weeks through the upper Northeast and Canada with a longtime friend. They learned that maybe, at their ages, rain does make a difference, and coffee shops make good places to dry off.
The Time We Spent at Home
When we are home, the days are busy and fly by. Michael is still studying General George S. Patton, but he does not bring him to coffee. His model train layout is coming along, and it will never be finished, because these things never are. I can say on his behalf that the true joy of it has shifted from the hobby itself to treasured moments with his grandchildren. He now has five little certified engineers who can properly operate the layout. Our yard and gardens have never looked better since he took over their care. He still tells me he loves being retired. I still agree.
Writing our blog posts is a great outlet for my creative energy, and I have enjoyed building and maintaining our website. I am also helping a friend with her book, which keeps my red pen busy. I’m picking up books and reading them through more often, rather than abandoning them half way. When we are home, I work on my cooking skills. It will be an ongoing learning project. Mixed media art journaling remains one of my favorite pastimes. My watercolor paints are ready for packing the minute the suitcases wander out of storage. I still tell Michael I am grateful for this time together. He still agrees.
The Time We are Living Today
Together, we are realizing how little we control. Yes, we make plans and add them to our calendar. But as we accept our mortality, we are gaining a fuller understanding that the Lord is in control. We are learning to hold the things we cannot change in one hand as acceptance and in the other as hope. Our faith feels steadier and closer than it did in the hurried years before retirement.
A friend recently said, “I guess being retired, you just do the day.” He is so right. Learning to accept the disruptions, then embrace them, then simply enjoy doing the day is what retirement has become for us. We know we will never get it perfectly right, but we intend to live it with intention, remember it, and share it.
When we started the website, we planned to run it for only one year. We have decided there is too much left to write about in this unscripted life we are living. Thank you to everyone who has traveled with us for the past year. Your texts, emails and comments are so encouraging. Stay with us, share with us, and let us know how you are doing. Cheers to all of you!
Feel free to contact us directly at info@retirementunscripted. Our staff consists of the two of us, so you will hear from us personally.
2 thoughts on “Year One Without an Alarm Clock”
You inspire me ! Thanks for sharing life !
After following you this past year the phrase “retirement goals” comes to mind. We are close so it’s all the emotions you’ve shared which help validate one’s own! You are a wonderful navigational resource that I look forward to reading and pondering upon!