Tag: retirement

Portal to the Imagination

Posted on by The Retired Alchemist

Step away with me into another world. One where you are free to explore and let your imagination soar. A world where you are totally caught up in the moment and experience that carefree feeling of flow. The world is your oyster, and you control it. Walk with me through the portal to imagination.

Growing up in the 60’s was a gift that we baby boomers probably do not appreciate enough. It was a time when we lived without fear. Think the movie “Sandlot.” It was a time when moms would shoo kids out of the house, not to return until there was food on the table. I grew up in the country and my siblings and I were feral children roaming the woods behind our house. By anyone else’s standards, it was just an ordinary woods with a creek running through it. But in our eyes, it was magical. Mostly because of the portal to it.

We were not allowed to cross the road to get to the woods behind our house. That was a hard and fast rule, “or else.” And we all knew what “or else” meant. Well, we never actually tested the “or else” threat, so I guess we weren’t exactly sure what it meant, but we knew it wasn’t good. So, instead of risking our lives crossing the road, we were required to go through an old, abandoned cattle chute that traversed underneath the road. Personally, I felt like I was risking my life more every time I entered the dark, damp, cobweb infested, cattle chute than I ever would have by crossing the road. But, as it was intended, “or else” pushed me to obey the rule.

The cattle chute was our gateway to a world of imagination. I am not sure how it ended up being called the cattle chute, other than it was a tunnel that was built under the road years ago so ranchers could herd their cattle through it instead of going over the road. To us, it was a portal to the imagination.

The portal

The cattle chute was a mysterious, dark foreboding tunnel with a small creek running through it. After braving the entrance, we had to jump across to dry patches of ground to prevent getting our feet wet in the creek, while simultaneously avoiding cobwebs draping down from the low ceiling and watching for trolls. I kept my eyes on the light at the end of the tunnel where magic awaited. It was our portal to a fantasy world that only children inhabited.

Once you were transported through the cattle chute you entered a world of freedom. Freedom from adult judgement or restrictions. Freedom from warnings such as “wash your hands after you touch that mushroom,” “stay out of the creek,” and “don’t get mud on your clothes.” While those words of wisdom were shared for our safety and wrapped in a blanket of love, they also made us more cautious. They would curb our curiosity and sense of reckless abandon.

Once through the portal, we were the kings and queens of the woods. We worked out our differences without adults to referee. We imagined, we created, and we experienced life through play. Play is necessary for healthy brain development. It teaches children to problem solve, develop social skills, build emotional resilience, release stress, and expand creativity. We were left to our own devices in our magical world for several hours a day. And while we felt isolated from adult interference, we were really only a holler away from the reminder that it was time to come home and wash up for dinner.

This is a picture of the cattle chute just before it was filled in. Scary huh?

Safety first

Sadly, the cattle chute was filled in years ago when they widened the road above it. Cattle had not tromped through it for many years, and it was just one more thing that was not considered safe anymore. The fact is that our world is not as safe as it was in the 50’s and 60’s. As a result, children lead much more insulated lives now. And a less safe world necessitates more parental involvement. Parents supervise their children at their friend’s birthday parties for fear that the older sibling or neighbor is a bully or creep. Organized sports have taken the place of the sandlot. And while there are many benefits to more parental involvement, I can’t help but feel a little sad that children of today will not know the experience of entering the portal to roam freely for hours in the woods or play out in the neighborhood until the streetlights come on.

Speaking of unsafe. Is it any wonder that we lived through our childhoods? Aside from all of the unsupervised time, how did we keep from cutting ourselves and bleeding to death from a rusty steel Tonka truck? Or burn ourselves up from the Easy Bake Oven? Even more dangerous was the Creepy Crawler machine. I remember going over to a friend’s house and playing with mercury, dumping it from hand to hand. Interesting stuff that is. We lived through it. Now toys are so safe that they fail to spark the imagination.

Portal to an adult’s imagination

As adults, we need to find our own portal to the imagination. We need to find ways to continue to ignite our curiosity and fuel our creativity. Retirement is the perfect time to do this. Just as play is an important part of childhood, it is also important to our emotional balance as adults. It keeps our minds sharp, decreases stress and fosters a sense of happiness and wellbeing. And playing with others helps us build and maintain social connections that will carry us through life. It helps prevent the dreaded social isolation of aging.

No matter what your age, people that do not engage in play are less interesting and fun to be around. They are typically not as happy either. So, let’s find the portal that leads to the imagination and bravely go through it to enjoy the abundance of a playful life on the other side. Just stay away from the mercury.

Find your portal and take it. See where it leads…

What’s in Your Retirement Wardrobe?

Posted on by The Retired Alchemist

Once the wrapping paper is unfurled and our waistlines are an inch wider, it is time to settle into real life again. After the indulgence of the holiday season, I am overtaken by an urge to clean out and organize. Apparently, I am not the only one, judging from the abundance of totes and storage items on sale after the new year. One of the first things I am tackling is my clothes closet…again.

I retired from my full-time position over five years ago. At that time, I donated a lot of my nicer dress clothes and had The Big Burn with the threadbare ones. It was a way to mark the changing of that season of my life. I did keep a few of my professional dresses, slacks and jackets, just in case. I am not sure what “just in case” was going to be. Maybe it was a way of hanging on to that part of my life that I had spent my entire adult years building. Removing these last few professional items from my wardrobe forces me to face the question, “who am I now that I am no longer the nurse, instructor or department director?” Now, five years later, I am ready to release the rest of those items from my wardrobe and consequently release those professional roles that I have been hanging on to. No one said the emotional aspect of retirement was easy, or quick.

Why now? First, those items have been lingering in the back of my closet taking up precious real estate – both physical and mental. Maybe I am finally ready to close that chapter of my life. Or it could be the fact that several of those pieces of clothing are getting very outdated, although… that never stopped me from wearing an item before. If I find something that I really like, I tend to hold on to it forever: a perfect fitting pair of jeans, a super comfy chair or a husband of over 44 years. If I find something I love, I do not trade it in for a newer version. In husbands, that is a wise choice, but in clothing… not so much.

I learned this lesson several years ago when I was teaching at our local college. The faculty would lecture to an auditorium full of nursing students for 3-4 hours at a time. No matter how riveting a lecture on the diagnosis and treatment of cardiac dysrhythmias, after a couple of hours, your mind tends to wander. Students start thinking about what they are making for dinner that night, whether they remembered to let the dog out before they left, or they start evaluating the lecturer’s clothing.

At the end of each semester, faculty open their student evaluations with trepidation. You never know what kind of feedback you are going to get. So, imagine my surprise when a student wrote a lovely compliment and then followed it up with a comment that I needed to dress more modern. Hum… I don’t know, maybe it was that “classic” red wool blazer that my mom passed down to me that I wore for years. It was beautiful and good quality… but perhaps it was a little outdated. So much for timelessness. In a moment of weakness, I shared this wardrobe evaluation with my colleagues. It was worth the humble moment just to enjoy the laughter and jokes that we had over it for years. But, like any feedback, you have to evaluate what you can take from it. I donated the red blazer and a few other items at the end of that semester. Smile.

These final professional clothing items will not make it to the big burn since they are still in pretty nice condition. Instead, they will be donated to a charity.

But I digress. The biggest reason that I am cleaning out my wardrobe after five years into retirement is that I have come to terms with the fact that my wardrobe needs have changed since I retired. I just don’t dress up much anymore. My mainstay items are sweats, joggers, leggings or shorts. Heck, wearing jeans is a dress up day for me now. Two pair of nice slacks are one too many and I rarely wear a dress anymore. Professional dress clothes are just not needed in my new world of retirement.

Benefits of a retirement wardrobe

Once in a while I miss dressing up. I used to enjoy clothes shopping and finding the perfect outfit with jewelry and shoes to match. But for the most part, the benefits of a retirement wardrobe far outweigh that. No more early morning decisions, standing in front of my closet trying to decide what to wear. And I save quite a bit of money by not having to buy dress clothes. When I am clothes shopping, which I rarely do anymore, I don’t even go into the professional dress clothes section. Why bother? I am really enjoying the casual clothes I wear almost every day now. Comfy is my new wardrobe mantra.

So, it is time to weed through my wardrobe and pull out the last of those items that I was saving “just in case” and open up some more space for my life now. Both mental and physical. How has your wardrobe changed since you retired? Are you loving it or do you miss putting on the suit jacket?

Rocky Mountain High

Posted on by The Retired Alchemist

We try not to travel much in the summer for two reasons. First, everyone is traveling, so places are crowed. Secondly, we live in a beautiful area during the summer, and I want to stay home and enjoy it. Heck, people travel to be here in the summer months. But now, Labor Day is over, the kids are back in school, and it is the off season for many travel destinations. Sounds like the perfect time for two retirees to pack up their bags for a little mini vacation. (Mini means not too far away.) Oddly enough, we have never spent any time in Colorado, even though it is a short two-hour flight from our home. We have dropped down in Denver briefly many times, or spent a few nights there at conferences, but that is about it. We have never explored the Rocky Mountains. It was time for a little “Rocky Mountain High.” Warning: proceed with caution – photo bomb ahead.

As I mentioned in my previous post, it has been a busy summer, which seems to be continuing into the fall. Thus, we could only carve out four nights to be away. We dropped down in Denver early in the morning and jumped into our rental car. The first stop was Golden, Colorado. I did not even know it existed, but what a charming little town. It’s claim to fame is that Adolph Coors opened the first Coors brewery there. It is still a thriving brewery, so we had to stop in to see it and do a little test tasting. The town of Golden also has a festive main street with Clear Creek running through it.

We enjoyed the paved walking path along Clear Creek in Golden, Colorado.

If we had time, I definitely would have rented a tube and joined the float down the river (above). But we had reservations that night in Breckenridge, Colorado, so we headed over the (11,000 feet) pass to Breckenridge. What a lovely town tucked up in the Colorado Mountains with Breckenridge and Copper Mountain ski resorts close by. We found the rest we craved in this lovely town tucked in the Rocky Mountains. We stayed at the Lodge at Breckenridge for two nights. It is an older lodge, so the bathrooms were small, but it maintained the cozy wood beam, mountain lodge look and the views were amazing. Bonus that a hot breakfast and free parking were included.

The Lodge at Breckenridge sits up on the mountain with beautiful views.
Now this is my idea of having morning coffee (left). We had an amazing view of Breckenridge Ski Resort from our deck (right).

Breckenridge was probably our favorite town. It had a charming main street with lots of restaurants, shops and pubs. We stopped to visit the iconic troll – what a work of art! My grands would have loved this character.

My grands would have loved this troll in the woods.

We underestimated the change in altitude. After dinner that evening, we returned to our car, which was parked a couple blocks up hill, and we were both out of breath. It felt like COVID all over again. I know that I have not exercised as much as usual this summer, but it shocked me, until we realized that it was from the “thin air.”

To go even higher, the next day we traveled across Independence Pass (elevation 12,095 feet). I am not a fan of heights, so the drive was a little unnerving, to say the least. But the views! Amazing to see the Continental Divide from that vantage point. We are such small specs in the universe.

It was windy and chilly (not shorts weather) up over 12,000 feet overlooking the continental divide.

We headed over the pass for a short stop in Aspen, Colorado. Not impressed. The downtown was full of VERY expensive name brand shops and there wasn’t really a fun, downtown area otherwise. We walked around for about an hour and then headed to Vail, Colorado for the night. We expected Vail to be what Aspen was, so it was a pleasant surprise to see a Bavarian themed village with brick walks winding through it. We were fortunate to hit the last night of Oktoberfest, so we enjoyed a German beer and listened to the Polkanauts play. They describe their band as, “bringing Poka fear and destruction to the masses!” They play metal, rock, punk and surf songs with a decided polka twist. So different and fun to listen to. Afterwards, we meandered down the brick streets to Alpenrose for a German meal of sausage, a pretzel and fondue.

The Polkanauts (left). All of the streets, shops and restaurants had either a ski or Bavarian theme.
Mr. U eating dinner at Alpenrose (left). Same restaurant with a night view (right).
Vail had beautiful flowers and mood lighting everywhere.
We enjoyed a soak in the hot tub at our hotel after a full day of sightseeing (right).

While Vail was overpriced, as expected (you pay about 1/3 more for everything,) it was worth it for the night. We stayed at Tivoli Lodge in Vail Village, so we were able to walk everywhere, although they have free bus/shuttle services available too. Our hotel provided a complimentary bottle of wine on arrival, and we took advantage of the hot tub before bed that night. They also had e-bikes to use, so we took a bike ride the next morning before checking out. Both of us had a little “holier-than-thou” attitude toward e-bikes, but I have to admit that we really enjoyed using them. Something we may consider… in the future. There was a lovely, paved bike/walking path along the river. What a great way to start the day, but we were excited to jump in the car and head through Rocky Mountain National Park.

Wow! The views in the park were amazing. I could hear John Denver quietly singing in my ear, “rocky mountain high.” We came across several herds of elk. Just for the record, a male elk with those big horns is a bull and not a buck. Won’t make that mistake again.

The elk in the park were undisturbed by the gawking humans.
There were quite a few glaciers near the summit in Rocky Mountain National Park.

We spent our final night in Estes Park and enjoyed a delicious, abundant BBQ dinner at Smokin’ Dave’s BBQ. The price was a welcome respite after Aspen and Vail.

Delicious BBQ dinner (no greens on this platter). Almost ran into this guy (literally) on our way home from dinner (right). Apparently, these are the street gangs that roam at night in Estes Park.

After our night in Estes Park we headed back through Boulder towards Denver to catch an evening flight home. It was a delightful mini get-a-way that gave me a new appreciation for the song “Rocky Mountain High.” Who needs mood altering drugs when you can get high on nature?

Boulder, Colorado

Living Closer to the Bone

Posted on by The Retired Alchemist

A weekend at summer camp? Heck yea! Years ago, when I was in nursing school, we had to do a pediatric rotation. One of the options for that rotation was to spend a weekend at a summer camp for children with special needs. Sounded like a pretty easy way to get some clinical hours to me. So, one sunny summer morning, armed with our heavy pediatric textbooks, pens, note pads and student nurse name tags, several of us headed up into the hills above Portland, Oregon for a weekend at camp.

We were assigned to work with the camp nurse. I pictured a rough looking, heavyset, grouchy old Nurse Ratched. Instead, we were met by a willowy, gentle, self-possessed, bohemian woman. Her office was in one of the small log cabins where she was staying for the summer. It was filled with plants, herbal teas and tinctures. She was real, raw, organic and living closer to the bone. We were quite sure she was the first medicine woman… and we adored her.

Organic: “Relating to or derived from living matter…denoting compounds containing carbon… a relation between elements of something such that they fit together harmoniously.”

Oxford Languages

Another course I was required to take in college was “Chemical Compounds.” The one thing I walked away with from that course, other than a lousy C+, was that every living thing contains carbon in some form. So, it is no wonder that being out in nature, walking among living, growing things, is good for us. It is living closer to the bone, and it is healing. The same goes for the foods we put into our body. All real food (aka – food that grew from the ground) contains carbon and those are the foods that our bodies need in order to feel good, be strong, heal and build healthy bones. The very framework of our bodies.

How did we step so far away from the bone?

Over time, technology and modern conveniences have pushed us farther and farther away from living a real life… closer to the bone. Whereas daily activity and being outdoors, cooking healthy meals with fresh food and spending time nurturing our connection with friends and family used to be a natural part of daily life, now we have to intentionally include it. We have slowly decreased or even extracted these things from our lives and now we are desperately trying to find ways to replace them. The problem is that the replacements end up being much less satisfying and healthy than the real deal. Let’s take a closer look at these.

Real movement.

Technology has made it much easier to be sedentary. We can experience the world through the click of our computer keys, and we don’t even have to walk out the door. When we do go out, we jump directly into the car. We circle the parking lot searching for the closest parking space, then we turn around and buy an expensive piece of work-out equipment to get more exercise. Has anyone besides us dished out money for an overpriced treadmill that was used a few months and then morphed into a dust catching clothes hanger?

In several countries, such as Italy, movement is a natural part of their day. They walk and ride bikes to get places. They don’t pigeonhole movement into a 30-minute workout. We have done everything we can to decrease movement in our lives and then we turn around and pay for a gym membership to bring it back. I don’t have anything against a gym membership. It is an excellent way to get exercise if you are committed to it. However, nature’s gym provides more overall benefits to our physical and mental health. Being outside also helps reduce stress, elevates your mood and provides an overall sense of well-being. Cleaning and gardening result in bending and stretching with the added benefit of accomplishing something constructive.

“Exercise within the green spaces and the great outdoors may be a useful natural medicine.”

Environmental Science & Technology

Real food.

We live in a country where we are constantly searching out, and paying out, for the latest and greatest vitamins, probiotics, collagen supplements, protein powders, and anti-aging supplements. Other countries, like those in the Blue Zones, rely on eating a well-rounded, fresh diet to get their nutrients. They get their supplements naturally in the foods they eat. They don’t waste money and energy seeking out the latest product to supplement a diet lacking in them.

We take all of the vitamins and minerals out of foods through processing them and then we try to replace them by taking a pill. Does anyone else see the irony in that? I remember being mesmerized by the futuristic cartoon, The Jetsons, as a kid. I distinctly recall one episode where, instead of having a meal, they just took a pill. Are we headed in that direction? Instead, let’s eat more carbon!

Real connection.

We have all seen families or couples at a restaurant that are glued to their phones, ignoring the very people that they came to share time with. As a society, we are sorely lacking in meaningful relationships. We are more connected than ever before in history, but less emotionally satisfied. Social media has made superficial connections easier and safer. We don’t have to let people see past the facade that we choose to share. But sharing our innermost fears and failures is necessary to release them. Otherwise, we get all clogged up.

The camp nurse had a heart for the kids with disabilities. Her gentle manner calmed even the most severe autistic children. She took the time and effort to connect with them in a very genuine way. She established a relationship of trust with them. It takes time and effort to develop and nurture relationships with people you can trust and be your real self with. But this is the stuff that connections are made of. And this, is what we are sadly lacking enough of in a world of superficial friends and a reliance on social media to compensate.

“Real isn’t how you are made,’ said the Skin Horse. ‘It’s a thing that happens to you. When a child loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but REALLY loves you, then you become Real.”

The Velveteen Rabbit

Conclusion

I love a lazy morning sipping coffee and scrolling through Pinterest, reading my favorite blogs or getting ideas from some fabulous IG content creators. But I can easily fall down the rabbit hole and before I know it, three hours have passed and the only movement I got was to refill my coffee. Perhaps we need to take a step back and determine how progress has benefitted us and how it has harmed us. We have gotten off balance and we need to take action to mitigate the damage. Perhaps it is time we seek out a real, more authentic lifestyle where we are living closer to the bone. Closer to the very marrow that gives life to our body.

Retirement Life

Posted on by The Retired Alchemist

If you had told me a few years ago, before I retired myself, that retirement life could be so busy that you don’t have enough time, I would have scoffed and mumbled under my breath, “right, you just don’t manage your time well.” Now that I am retired, I realize that the beauty of it is… I don’t have to manage my time well. Such as it has been these past couple weeks. When I started this blog, I committed to publish a post every week. I love to write. It helps me breathe. However, these past couple weeks have left me with little extra time to write a blog post. What could keep this retired person so busy? Well, quite a lot really.

Spring cleaning and decorating

The sunshine shows all of the dust and smudge prints that have accumulated over the long, dark winter, so it was time to do a little spring cleaning. Chores do not go away once you are retired, unless you hire out to have them done, which I have a hard time doing because, well…I am retired after all. Besides, it always feels good to take down the winter decorations and freshen the house up a bit for spring.

I found the beehive last year and decided to it was worth a little roadsidea decorating.

Grandkids

It is wonderful to have relaxed time to be a grandparent. When we were raising our own kids, it felt like I was always rushing or multitasking. Now I can enjoy uninterrupted time with my grands. I have been watching our new grandbaby for a few hours every week while my DIL returns to work. Precious time where I just focus on her.

Just a fun bundle of cuddles and play.

My other granddaughter turned eight last week. We celebrated with a grandma nana date. I took her out for a high tea. We both dressed up and enjoyed tea with cream and sugar, little tea sandwiches and scones with clotted cream and jam. We learned a little bit about the history of high tea. Precious uninterrupted time together.

Of course, we had to try on every hat at the tearoom but settled on the ones we brought with us. We practiced drinking tea with our pinkie finger extended.

We have been able to attend several of my grandson’s wrestling matches, which can be all-day events. I am glad we have the time to do this – we missed too many when we spent the month of February in Florida. It is so fun to watch him enjoy and compete at the same sport his dad excelled at.

He is a beast on the wrestling mat but has a heart of gold and still gives hugs to grandma.

Travel

The weather has been sketchy at home and Scottsdale promised to be sunny and in the 80’s last week. We are retired, so why not make a quick trip down there to enjoy the sunshine? On a last-minute whim we packed up and made the short 2 1/2-hour flight. So glad we did. We have been hiking, riding bikes, enjoying the sunshine and pool all week. I spent a few hours in a bookstore, just nosing around the stacks without an agenda. This is a pretty cheap trip for us because we stayed at my son’s condo, since it was available for the week, and we used our free fly miles to travel back and forth. Our biggest expense was a car rental, which we got for a surprising $18.00/day.

This hike nearly killed us, but it was worth the view.

“Once she stopped rushing through life, she was amazed how much more life she had time for.”

Filling the Jars

So, there you have it. Life has been too chock full of fun stuff to write a real blog post this week. I had to settle for this quick recap of the last few weeks in the life of a retiree. I hope that you are able to NOT manage some of your time this week as well. It opens doors for the fun stuff.