Seen while strolling

Three weeks, 21 days, another rabbit:  no significant changes, right?

Seen while strolling

 

Looking out my back door

Late last year, a volunteer plant appeared in our yard.  Since it was in an area that we’re not mowing this year, we let it grow, and it turned out to be a butterfly bush.  It’s now about a foot and a half tall, and purple blossoms are beginning to appear.  I looked out the back window this afternoon, and for the first time, saw a butterfly on one of the flowers.  The first of many, I hope.

My Days

Events in the news are bothering me so much... no, check that, it should be "Pundit reactions to events in the news..." that I've turned off the news.  After Donald Trump's convictions, I was wishing the election would be tomorrow.  I no longer feel that way.  

As if retirement wasn't stressful enough!  For a pastime, I should have chosen a different book instead of William L. Shirer's Berlin Diary.  Either the news or the job status would have required adjustment, but I found that both together aroused an intense feeling of dread, which has mostly been suppressed with the help of sertraline.  Last time I took it, I got off of it quickly because I didn't like feeling a lack of joy.  Now, I greatly want to feel a lack of dread.

"Touch grass," you say?  I've done something better:  "Touch cats."  On the way there, I didn't dare turn on the radio, instead putting on a podcast about John Ford from Turner Classic Movies.  Another TCM podcast on the way home.

I look at Xitter to try to get accustomed to the reactions, or to desensitize myself against the "Cry more" and "Cope and seethe" remarks.  

Thinking for myself:

2016:  Democrats ran the one candidate who Trump could defeat.  A woman, and a Clinton.

2024:  GOP runs the one candidate who Biden can defeat.  An equally old person, a convicted felon, adjudicated rapist, and someone whose act has worn thin.

Done. Next?

For the first time in nearly 11 years, I have no paid employment.  I guess that's one way of putting it.

I'm retired.  My last day was last Friday, and there was just enough to do for the day to pass quickly.  I did what needed to be done, I looked up and it was nearly 11:30.  Same in the afternoon; before I knew it the clock was reading 3:30.  There were 50 messages from colleagues wishing me well.  

I liked my job, but I understood it was time to go.

This morning, I unplugged everything related to the former job and piled it in one corner of the office.  Soon I'll gather it all up and drive to the office and drop it off.  Filling that space now are the 2 monitors for my home PC, flanked by the Yamaha speakers the company paid for.  The wires that were in place had to be untangled, and in a couple of cases they weren't long enough anymore in the new setup, which forced some problem-solving behavior.  Anyway, I learned something.

Ready as I'll ever be for retirement, I guess.  I am concerned when I see this quote:  “I think we’re all wired the same. We need to be busy. We need to be active. You need to feel like we’ve got a purpose and a place. Relaxation and time off gets the better of all of us. I’m at my worst when I have time off.”  

Advice I read somewhere recommended having something to retire to.  I have TP for photography and writing and just getting out of the house for awhile.  I'm still following the online music lessons, and although I won't earn an advanced degree, an associate's will probably be all I need or want.  And third, the Le Monde subscription is giving me practice reading and learning French, not only through reading, but also the AI that reads articles aloud.

The best days are past, but I've also seen advice to focus on the good that is still around.  No other realistic alternatives anyway.  And away we go.