June 15, 2020 – Postcards from Retirement

It was quiet for my birthday this year with no one around but Rich and me. He made French toast with a peach compote for breakfast and then I was not anywhere near hungry for lunch! It was so good. A few weeks ago he was watching a cooking show and it highlighted an olive oil pound cake with fresh strawberries so I commented that it would probably be good with peaches, too. He decided to make that for my bday, along with homemade pizza which I had requested. I’m not sure what I was thinking when I could have had a fancy dinner of my preference but I was just craving pizza. He got off easy, well, relatively easy since he had to make his own dough, too. 🙂 I had lots of phone calls, texts, emails, and messages on Facebook which made it a very nice, lazy day of sitting around chatting with people on various platforms. 🙂

Some days I am frustrated, sad, disappointed and resentful about the state of the world, missing the kids, wanting to see friends, being stuck in the house, wondering how long all of this isolation will last. I feel like I don’t have all that many days left ahead of me and I want to be able to travel, to go to activities and events, to visit the kids, to get back to “the usual.” Then I think “the usual” is gone and we just have to get used to living differently. So I am trying to be grateful for 66 years and hoping for more ahead so that we can still do some things we enjoy.

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Our grandson Luke is my birthday buddy and I love that! He turned 8 this year, which seems pretty hard to believe. I had to double check! He is a funny kid, full of stories and jokes, loves to sing and dance and perform, builds all the Legos and Magna Tiles you can imagine; he’s a great reader and tore it up on the soccer field this year; he loves his family and friends and animals and has the kindest, most caring heart. We love him so much and wish we could see him. Happy Birthday, Luke!

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We got our first box from Comeback Creek Farm and have been enjoying most of the fruits and veggies. I say “most” because turnips were included and I had a hard time choking them down even though Rich sautéed them in a very nice sauce. I have had turnip greens before and liked them, including the small pieces of turnips mixed in. But straight up turnips I suppose are not my thing.

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Rich has been making use of all the peaches we got from the peach truck.

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Sarah called one day and said Miles had a meeting in Dallas and she was coming with him. Could she come see us? Of course I was thrilled! She came to the door and knocked and just stood there, not knowing if we wanted her to come inside. Poor girl. I told her to come in and that we just wouldn’t get too close to one another. It was the first time we’ve had anyone in the house since mid March and it seemed a little weird. Rich fixed us a nice lunch and we ate “socially distanced” at the longer dining room table where we could spread out and not be in each other’s faces. She had asked me for some old family photos so she can make copies and hang them in her hallway so we had fun looking through old pix. Miles came to pick her up and was not sure if he should come in the house either. It is certainly a brand new world, isn’t it??? We chatted with him for a few minutes and then he helped Rich open our outdoor umbrella which is super hard for one person to do. I was really happy to see the kids and it made me feel like maybe life will get back to normal eventually. I finally finished knitting a scarf I’d been working on for awhile–I belong to a knitting group and we donate them to organizations working with people who are experiencing homelessness. We bought some hanging baskets and plants to put in pots to brighten up our front porch (along with Kali relaxing). And I’ve been enjoying all the mail we’ve been getting!

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We haven’t been walking as much because it’s already so hot in the AM but did manage to go a few times around our own neighborhood. It seems like such a hassle and uses a lot of time to drive elsewhere to find something different to see.