Saturday, July 26, 2008

Sometimes I Wonder -- Which Would I Choose?

I love it when the house is suddenly quiet after a busy day -- weekends, my son is home and he and the dogs are off to the dog park for a long hike, there's laundry to do and dinner to plan. Then the sun goes down, the street outside the house is quiet, Adam and Mojo are visiting a neighbor and their dog across the street and Sam Schnauzer and I have the house to ourselves. I look back over the week and feel a sense of accomplishment -- in other words, I got through it without incident, I did the shopping and restocked the cupboards and the fridge, I went to Tai Chi class, I worked on the blog, I corresponded with friends both old and new. So, yes, it's been a good week.

There was a time when I would have considered such a week as somewhat of a drag, but needless to say that was before retirement. The weeks were always busy from dawn until whenever. Because of the position I held at the Japanese silicon wafer manufacturing plant before I retired, my days weren't restricted to eight hours. There was the eight to ten hours in my office, but then there were frequently visitors from Japan, and that meant taking them to dinner -- whatever. But it was fun, I enjoyed the contact, the chance to practice my Japanese.

So, I look at my days now and I look back and wonder. If I could choose which life to follow, would it be my life today with its quiet, predictable rhythm or would I choose the other? And I guess the answer depends on my mood. Tonight I'm quite happy with my life as it is -- tomorrow, well, who knows??

2 comments:

Rain Trueax said...

I like my life as it is but I did back when it was more structured around kid activities. I do have a lot of freedom now to do what I choose which could be bad or good depending on whether I used that freedom or let it slip by. I am capable of either.

Judy said...

I love my life in retirement. I usually have an early quiet morning and then check out my blog friends before beginning my day. Last winter I sometimes spent an entire day just looking through an antique mall or going to book stores and consignment shops or making a new recipe. During the summer, I am walking, taking small overnight trips, meeting with friends. I just love retirement. I was too busy to do anything when I was working.