Experimentation

Partly through deliberate action, and partly through circumstances, I have, since my birthday last year, been experimenting with semi-retirement. I am discovering some things. And why not? This is new territory. What have I been learning? Interesting that you should ask.

To begin with, the first few days off, after a bout of working, are relaxing and thoroughly enjoyable. But, soon after, a sense of guilt creeps in. It increases with each day and completely leaves after I go back to work.

The longer my layoff, the better I feel, physically. I am discovering that when I have aches and pains, it means I am using my muscles, ligaments, and joints, and they are being tested, but found wanting. When I stop working, the aches and pains go away, but so does my strength, endurance, and general sense of well being. So, I am concluding that pain is not a bad thing, but it tells me that I am alive and in good shape. So I can't sleep at night, but my arms do, and I have to roll out of bed, and my neck creaks like a door in a haunted house. My knees have gravel right behind the 'caps', and my muscles cramp up at night. But working is healthy. Have I convinced you yet? 

Something else about not working is that I miss it. I miss dealing with people and solving their decorating problems. I miss the tremendous sense of accomplishment at the end of the job, when the customer is all ga-ga over their new home. And, dare I say it, I miss the money. 

All through my life I have noticed that as long as I am working, I do not spend money, except for paying bills, you know, the necessities. When one takes a week or two off, there is dining out, coffee with buddies. Driving around, which requires a tank of gas more often than when the truck is parked all day on the job. It goes so against me to take money out and not put even more back in. This will be a huge shift in thinking for me after a life long habit of preparing for the days of no income. 

I had a good friend in High School whose dad was in the same business as I am. He worked, at least part time, until he was almost eighty! I asked him why he was doing that. He said, "It's good for me." And then he just smiled. Will that be me?