Living in uncertain times

This is the first year of retirement and I had all sorts of ideas of what I would do. That's not how this year has been going. While we all know there's currently a lot of bad going on, there's been good to find as well. You just have to look harder.

Instead of the year I planned, we lost a beloved family member and the family gathered for the memorial service which while sad, was also a family bonding event. Later, many of the family gathered again for a wedding which is a joyous event filled with promise for the future. But we had to decline to join them because I had injured myself and felt unable to travel. I joked that I "busted out a sick dance move in class" and while things are improving it's a much slower process than I anticipated. I have been not mobile, not even able to drive so my life has been very constrained lately. Our tropical travel plans have been put on hold, but we can look forward to them in the future.

I try to avoid talking about politics and global events on public media so I'll just leave it at I'm very unhappy about what's currently going on. It makes it hard to think about the future at the moment. It also makes it hard for me to feel positive.

In response, I had to institute some personal self care policies. I don't look at any news or social media until noon or later in the day. I'm also selective about what I do look at and sometimes simply ask for people to summarize things for me. I've been doing more reading in the mornings which is great because I still have a backlog of books. We've been watching more cheery and escapist media--nothing dark for us, thank you. And I've been focused on enjoying nature around me. The ocean, our garden, the avian visitors to our yard, and the butterflies.

I am also very slowly getting through the list of things that I thought would take maybe a week or so to do. I've archived most (if not all) business records and removed them from my office into a storage area. We've been cleaning and purging many things that no longer serve our current and future lifestyle. We hosted a garage sale during the summer which was a fun way to see friends, neighbors, and reduce the clutter in our lives.

And I've been reminded what a gift friends are in our lives. The image in this post is a rock that a dear and talented friend painted for me. Friends and family make it easier to get through these times of uncertainty. So while I don't know what lies ahead in a personal and a wider world view, I am determined to cherish the people and things (and pets) around me.

I should add that one of our cats has made it her daily mission to give me a cat scan--she marches onto my chest, stares deeply into my eyes and purrs. It's very sweet and I get a purrtificate of love from her.