I was feeling a little bit better today
So my wife put me to work
On some tasks around the house
And in the yard
Hence I didn’t do much blogging today
Nor reading, liking, or commenting
Maybe tomorrow I’ll tell my wife
I’ve had a relapse of my cold
For this week’s Stream of Consciousness Saturday prompt, Linda G. Hill has given us “on your/my plate.”
Back in the day, when I was still working, I had a lot on my plate. Between managing my team of product consultants and software developers, working with installation managers, sales people, senior executives, prospects, clients, and vendors, as well as caring for and providing for my wife and kids, my plate was constantly full. Sometimes overflowing.
And I loved it. I thrived on the pressure of meeting deadlines, fulfilling client expectations, demoing our software solutions to new clients, running meetings and webinars, closing new business, and finding a balance between work and family. It all gave meaning to my life. It defined who I was.
And then I retired. For five decades I had defined myself by my work, by what I did for a living. I woke up one day and that was all gone. Not only did I not have all of those job responsibilities anymore, but my kids were grown up and out on their own.
I felt a sense of panic. Who was I if my identity was my work and I was no longer working? I remember telling my wife that my plate was now empty and I didn’t know what to do with myself.
But the good news is that my plate is still full. I’ve got grandkids who give me tremendous joy. I’ve got my blog, which enables me to interact with fellow bloggers from around the world. And I’ve got a wife who is happy to keep adding things to my “honey do” list.
So, in spite of my early fears that upon retirement my plate — my life — would be empty, the reality is that what’s on my plate today, in retirement, is just fine. I can now define myself by who I am, not what I do.
Now how about you? What’s on your plate?
“What’s this?” Frank asked his wife when she handed him the piece of paper.
“It’s my honey do list, sweetie,” Debbie said.
“Look at the size of this freakin’ list, Debbie,” Frank said. “I’ll be encumbered for the rest of my life trying to get through all of the tasks on this list of yours.”
“Oh honey, it should be a piece of cake for a resourceful man like you,” Debbie said.
“Well, thank you for this nifty little list of yours that will keep me occupied for years while you sit around on your fat ass buying crap on the Home Shopping Network,” Frank grumbled.
“Oh stop being such a gnarly old fuddy-duddy,” Debbie said. “You need to learn to relax and to just go with the flow, Frank.”
“Being married to you requires the patience of a saint,” Frank said.
“But Frank, I’m such an angel to you, don’t you think, sweetheart?” Debbie said.
Frank looked at his wife and then down at the list that he was holding. “What I think, Debbie, is better left unsaid.”
Written for these daily prompts: Fandango’s One-Word Challenge (list), Ragtag Daily Prompt (encumbered), My Vivid Blog (cake/resourceful), Your Daily Word Prompt (nifty), The Daily Spur (network), Word of the Day Challenge (gnarly/flow), and E.M.’s Random Word Prompt (saint). Also for Jim Adams’ Wednesday Thoughts prompt, where the theme is “better left unsaid.”
The packers and movers showed up at 8:00 this morning. By tomorrow night, everything we own will have been moved into our new house, including our dog and our cat, both of whom are somewhat freaked out by all this commotion, since they have no idea what the hell is going on.
My wife and I will be spending Thursday, Friday, and probably most of the weekend unpacking and getting things organized. And that means I won’t be around much on WordPress. I do have my daily FOWC with Fandango prompts and my daily February Expressions prompts scheduled out for the next two weeks, so they will be posted. I’ll also probably repeat one of my early Fandango’s Provocative Question posts on Wednesday and I will try to post a Fandango’s Friday Flashback on Friday.
I’m hoping that by early next week I’ll be settled in enough at the new place to get back in the game.
But that, of course depends to a great extent on the size of the “honey do” list that my wife has already begun compiling even though we haven’t yet moved in.
“You have been promising to renovate our dingy kitchen for years,” Donna complained to her husband.
“Yeah, yeah, I know,” David said. “I’ll get around to it.”
“When?” Donna asked. “I swear, David, you’re impossible. Getting you to do anything around here is an endless struggle.”
“Well, Donna, your ‘honey-do’ list is so damn long, I have to be efficient when it comes how to parcel out my time,” David said. “But I assure you, when the time is right, I’ll glide right into the task. It’ll be so smooth, like butter. I promise.”
“Yeah,” Donna said sarcastically, “but will you glide into it before you die? Because if you don’t get to it soon, I’m going to kill you.”
Written for these one-word prompts: Your Daily Word Prompt (renovate), Word of the Day (dingy), Ragtag Daily Prompt (parcel), Daily Addictions (glide), Scotts Daily Prompt (die), and for Teresa’s Daily Writing Challenge using the words “impossible,” “endless,” and “struggle.
This, That, and the Other 