A Lifetime Defined by Meetings

What I actually told myself was, "I will never attend that meeting again with laryngitis, unable to talk."

What I meant was, "I will never attend another meeting -  if at all possible."

The same thing happened when I stopped taking classes of any kind. No more art classes, writing classes, cooking classes. No classes at all except for required continuing education classes. You saw me! You know how long I sat in Bible Study. Not twice but three times....one lesson each time.

When I settled in Tally my "new" friends, ladies my age, could not understand my adamant "not attending classes" rule. "Enough is enough," I explained.

How could I make them understand that I worked my way through college, then served as Professional Opticians of Florida chapter Educational Chairman every few years and, finally, attended three times the amount of CE classes than were required (when I was on the Board of Opticianry) in order to keep the quality of the education up - as well as studied and critiqued every proposed new class submitted by Opticianry educational providers for ten years running!

Hence, no classes since 2005 except for Tai Chi. Tai Chi isn't that kind of a class, anyway. Tai Chi is a moving meditation. And I don't really go that much.

Tai Chi, Thomasville Road

Now take out the meetings. Long time coming. My life has been a whirlwind of them for many years. Often with travel. Actually, more meetings than classes. A lifetime of meetings.

No classes. Now, no meetings. Let's just stay at home and live the good life. Use some of that stuff  learned going to all those classes in the time saved by not sitting at any more meetings!

From My Three Legged Stool: I Know What I Want It To Look Like

I used to have a pouting bench on my patio in Jacksonville. It was mostly used for pondering though. I've not been known to pout very much.

Now when anything in my life takes a lot of thought and planning, I mentally conjure up my three legged stool. It works well and the old bench itself has been restored and sits here in my foyer - a reminder that it's on its second life and that's a lot of pondering!


When I retired in 2005 a friend made a comment that I really took to heart. "Be sure you are retiring to something rather than from something." Simple and easy. And I was. I was retiring to a life of gardening and grandchildren, state parks and fishing trips, deer season and dove hunting, cooking and outdoor BBQ, the good Florida life.


You know me and you know that the plan failed. In the end, I needed to retire alone, to garden only for cooking herbs, to buy my fresh fish off the truck at Lake Ella, enjoy venison from other sources, no grilling, no huge bags of potting soil, no freshly picked veggies; no acreage, no chickens, no little goat. Thank goodness I still got to have Tom and Jack. I wish every day that they could see the life I had envisioned for them.


Sam's words still lingered. A quick learner, I realized that he was essentially correct. More than ever. I adopted the motto, " I now work for results and not money," and became a mini-me working for my favorite causes.


For going on five years I've championed Lighthouse, the Dining in the Dark Dinner, the Board of Opticianry, the HCC Foundation and many other, smaller and less permanent projects. I'm so glad I did it, too. I think it's called channeling one's energy, using one's talents, You can survive better if you're not thinking only of yourself.


But, I was sick all summer. Bad reactions to medicines, Lupus scares, lots of testing and blood work, lowered immune system, dental implants that can and will get infected if I blink, colds that morph into laryngitis, sinusitis, bronchitis and try to stay forever. I cracked my ribs, coughing. How can you go to a manicure, a Church service, a meeting, a party, coughing? Cough, cough, cough.

Since my own bedroom is like a huge study, library, entertainment center, I usually sleep in my guestroom. One can get a very good night's rest! It's a small room but cheerful with only a radio for NPR and my Kindle. This is where I spent almost every day last week. I was trying to take such good care of the cold that it wouldn't become something worse. I failed.

So there I was; sleeping, having soup and saltines, coughing. I started thinking about my plans for the "new" retirement that I started developing last summer. Most of it was already in the works. So I conjured it up, for the billionth time, in my mind. It hasn't got too much to do with good works. It isn't volunteer based. I wouldn't call it an altruistic plan.  It's actually mostly about friends and family, pets, church, reading and writing, and feeling good!

And that is how it was that yesterday I slipped out of the blue bed in the guest room and into a new world of total retirement. It only took one last email.  Now I need to rest until I can get my voice back. Polish my smile! Buy a pair of jeans! I don't think I'm retiring "to" anything at all this time, Sam. At least it can't be labeled.  But I know what I want it to look like.