MY FINAL LAP

Reflections on Retirement

I am entering the final lap of my life. Like Canadian geese either flying north for the summer or south for the winter, suspended in air, it does not matter where my destination lies—only the flight itself.

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Kaleidoscope

We had the first real rainfall of the season yesterday, the last day in September. It felt like both tears of sorrow and relief mixing...

Patricia

Oct 1, 20232 min read

Stepping Into Rainbows

My home environment is crucial to my well-being. It’s where my last thoughts of the day slip into dreams and my first thoughts in the...

Patricia

Aug 28, 20232 min read

Life Significant

Today the news is much about the wildfire on Maui that destroyed the city of Lahaina. 93 souls dead and counting, many probably native...

Patricia

Aug 12, 20232 min read

Stars, Security, and a Sleep Story

It’s the 4th of July and I’m just starting to see light at the end of an unexpectedly long pain tunnel. Eight days ago, I underwent my...

Patricia

Jul 4, 20232 min read

Two Trout and an Anniversary

Ten days ago, two of my former colleagues came to town to take me to lunch before my scheduled second hip surgery at the end of June. We...

Patricia

Jun 12, 20232 min read

Baseball & Shamrocks

Grounded, my bare feet rest on three-leaf clover that has taken over the grass. I’m sitting under a tree watching my youngest grandson...

Patricia

May 7, 20232 min read

The Gift of Silence

My childhood was filled with silence. I remember being alone much of the time. Other people’s voices were mostly not present as I looked...

Patricia

Apr 15, 20232 min read

10-Years Ago Today

It’s been 10-years ago today that I moved into my lovely little duplex, calico kitty in tow. We would begin life over together, just the...

Patricia

Feb 16, 20232 min read

All I Have Is Now

So much has transpired in the past month. Holidays, birthdays, healing days from surgery –and a fresh new year. Unexpectedly, somewhere...

Patricia

Jan 26, 20232 min read

The Gifts of Christmas

Maybe it’s because I’ve had to spend the past month recovering from hip replacement surgery with much of the time resting. Interspersed...

Patricia

Dec 15, 20222 min read

Stepping Up to The Plate

Scheduling surgery of any kind is not an easy task with so many considerations to weigh. So, in the end, I grabbed the first date...

Patricia

Dec 1, 20222 min read

650 Square Feet

Reality just jumped onto my heart. Though I’ve been aware that I’ll need to move into senior housing in order to subsist on my fixed...

Patricia

Nov 18, 20222 min read

Ordinary/Extraordinary

My life has settled into ordinary, doable, anticipated tasks and tradeoffs –with a scattering of little triumphs here and there. Yes,...

Patricia

Oct 29, 20222 min read

Childhood Leftovers

With time slowed in retirement I’ve started to become aware of my susceptibility to little pricks of emotional discomfort that surface...

Patricia

Sep 29, 20222 min read

Making Friends with My Older Self

Now that I’m retired, I’ve eased into an amicable relationship with my growing-older self. I accept not having the balance I had during...

Patricia

Aug 27, 20222 min read

Upset Applecart

There’s a funny T-shirt featuring a black cat with frizzled hair and bloodshot, googly eyes that reads, It’s Fine. I’m Fine., Everything...

Patricia

Jul 30, 20222 min read

Less Is More

Observing my life now that I’ve been retired a full year, I’ve notice something. Certain expectable wants seem to have pretty much gone...

Patricia

Jul 16, 20222 min read

Halfway Down the Stairs

A beloved poem entitled Halfway Down the Stairs by A. A. Milne caught my eye recently. It conveys a child’s perspective about the special...

Patricia

Jul 1, 20222 min read

So Much Has Changed

In just a couple of weeks it will be one year since I retired. Still in the middle of the COVID-19 crisis and barely 6-months after the...

Patricia

Jun 18, 20222 min read

The Buddy Bench

When my youngest grandson was in 2nd grade he was repeatedly bullied by a classmate. Not wanting to engage with the aggressor, he...

Patricia

Jun 4, 20222 min read

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MY FINAL LAP

Kaleidoscope

Stepping Into Rainbows

Life Significant

Stars, Security, and a Sleep Story

Two Trout and an Anniversary

Baseball & Shamrocks

The Gift of Silence

10-Years Ago Today

All I Have Is Now

The Gifts of Christmas

Stepping Up to The Plate

650 Square Feet

Ordinary/Extraordinary

Childhood Leftovers

Making Friends with My Older Self

Upset Applecart

Less Is More

Halfway Down the Stairs

So Much Has Changed

The Buddy Bench

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CONTACT