Jun 10 2008
Retirement Danger THREE - Taking Over
Retirement Danger THREE is the danger of “taking over” things that we previously had no time for, or thought to be unimportant, or not worth our time. Suddenly, now that I am retired, I want to be involved with lots of stuff I never gave a hoot about before. Suddenly, every event that a grandchild is involved in becomes an item for my calendar. Whether it is a school music recital, a softball game, a gymnastics summer camp, whatever. Presto! I’m there! Doesn’t matter if she expects me to be there, or even WANTS me there at all, I am going to be PRESENT. Grandpa is present everywhere these days it seems. The family begins to think I must not have anything else to do, or wonder if I have a life of my own anymore?
And the adult children get more than enough of my company too, I suspect.
And my own mother, now an 80-year-old great-grandmother, (81 later this month), will be getting a surprise visit from me TODAY!
And my Sister is going on vacation and her cat, “Dusty” is her name, needs someone to check up on her. Presto! Dusty gets to have me as her very own babysitter for a week! She lives in a cabin 100 miles away. (Well, there is a hot tub, so this is a pretty good deal for me.)
My step-son needs a tree planted in his boulevard area to meet a subdivision requirement. Presto! I buy a tree and plant it too. Put a nice collar around it and mulch it with bark. Lucky him. Suddenly his every wish is my command. I never had time for such things before retirement.
My son is expecting his first baby. He mentions that he thinks building a baby crib out of logs would be cool. Presto! I am out in the woods with my chain saw cutting pieces of dead pine trees to bring into MY garage so I (oops–WE) can peel the bark, sand, and shape. We don’t have a “draw knife” to peel the bark. Presto! I buy one. Lucky him. Lucky if he gets to participate at all. (Turns out to be WAY too much work for one retired guy to handle so, yes, he gets to participate quite a bit. This project is still under way with a long way to go. I had to make THREE trips into the woods to get just the right stuff.
Let’s see, what else can I “take over”?
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