Finding a stride...

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Thursday, January 16, 2020

I picked up my friend John this morning at 6:30 a.m. to take him to a doctor’s appointment.  He commented during the ride that he’d been reading the blog and said, “it’s not too much about retirement.”

My writing hasn’t been much about retirement, and neither has the time I’ve spent retired.  Sure…I’m going to the same place I’ve worked for the past six years and doing the same job I’ve done for the past six years two days a week and I’m getting calls from that same place every one of the days I’ve been off.  Additionally, I’ve been fighting, and losing, a battle with a chest cold the entire time and so have done little in the way of exercise – something I wanted to add to each of my postings during semi-retirement, but all of that is not the reason.  The real reason is, um, it’s…I don’t know.

I write so much more in my head than I ever put on paper – figuratively speaking, since I actually do my writing on the computer, that is.  I suppose like a lot of retirement people just getting started, I’m finding my stride.  I’m certainly still locked in the old working world and maybe there’s some comfort for me in that.  There’s something to be said for having a schedule and not having to create one each day.  As long as I keep working part-time, I can’t really get into a ‘new thing’…and that sounds more like an excuse than a reason.

I did receive a call from Joanne, an old friend in DC who runs the Brendan Sailing program for children with disabilities.  “I was wondering if you’d speak to our director about how the ‘Leave No Trace’ principles might fit in with our on-water program in our efforts to teach kids the importance of protecting Chesapeake Bay.”

I explained to her that I’m looking for something where I can give back and am particularly interested in things involving my passions – camping, hiking, kayaking, and cycling – and would love to speak to her director on the subject.  I hung up from her and dug into the LNT principles and saw an immediate segue for each of them to people sailing the Chesapeake and emailed her my ideas.  Things have developed and I will be traveling there next weekend to meet with the director and Joanne to explore not only the incorporation of the principles, but how I can be involved moving forward.

Monday and Wednesday were both days hovering near fifty, which is more than warm enough to ride the bike outside and so I took advantage of the opportunity.  In my head I decided that staying inside and doing little had done nothing to improve my chest cold so that maybe the fresh, cool air would help.  It didn’t in the end, but I felt better coughing in my leg-weary exhausted state than I did just sitting on the couch, so why not?

I had dinner with my daughter last night and after running stories I’d written in the blog and her mom’s reaction to them past her, she admonished me for not giving Holly a ‘head’s up’ about what I’d written before publishing.  We debated this point.  “It’s my life I’m trying to write about here and I own it.  I can’t call everyone affected and ask them for editorial approval or the story won’t be mine,” I argued.

“It’s your life, but it affects others and I think you should let them know when you write about them.”

I value Heidi’s opinion, but in the end and at some later time, I’m going to write so much more about what shaped me into me…if I can figure it out.  During that process, I’m sure to write things about friends and family that will possibly upset them.  I know how two people can be a part of the same life and situation yet view it in entirely different ways and that my view will surprise siblings, relatives and friends, but if I am to delve, it’s going to happen.

And how does any of that fit with retirement?  (Semi) retirement guys have more time to think…

Bike duration:  Two hours.

Training Heart Rate:  120 bpm.

Calories burned during workout:  1700.