Saturday, December 14, 2019

'19/#41 Tired, Retired, Reretired

Just about everybody works with an eye on the light at the end of the tunnel, the light being retirement. We all put in those years in the work force looking forward to the time that we can do what we want, when we want, and relax...especially relax. Well be forewarned that retirement can be as hectic as any job only more so because you are doing what you want to do.

Here at Texas Trails we enjoy our time in the office. It is relaxing and low pressure and well worth the compensation we get. On the other hand as residents of the park we like to volunteer as a way of getting to know the other residents. It also lets us get involved in groups, activities, and other get togethers. If we are not careful we can get ourselves over extended as we did the past two weeks. Between the holiday preparations and the weekly Chuck Wagon dinner we knew it would be a busy time. Add to that one of the girls in the office had a family emergency and as the friends we have become over the years we stepped in to fill the gap. Also as will happen in a group of people of a certain age (seniors) someone wasn't feeling well and could not do the shopping for the kitchen activities. As a Chuck Wagon volunteer we volunteered to do the shopping for the next two weeks. Toss in our usual household chores and a doctor's visit or two and the last two weeks has us beyond tired or retired. We are now reretired.

This next week has a lot of blanks on the calender and the plan is to keep it that way. A relaxing week and a planned date night just for the two of us will go miles to help us recharge our batteries before the next round of holidays. Christmas will be just the two of us but we have volunteered to take charge of decorating for New Years Eve and will also help in the kitchen. After that we have President's Day, St Patrick's Day, Valentines Day, Easter, and (we should be gone by then) Memorial Day. All these  holidays are celebrated in one way or another in the park. Based on our full calender I'm not sure when I had time to work before retirement.

I have been making time to blog in the middle of all that has been going on but I will say goodbye for now from our home in South Texas because.....

Home is where we park it,
Frank and Mary

Sunday, December 8, 2019

'19/#40 Remember Wheels and Jello

Mary and I were just sitting around and talking about ideas for the next year. We are always saying our house is on wheels and our plans are written in jello so things can  change in a moment, so this is tentative right now. In other words no one should be getting excited or changing their own plans based on what I am writing today.

"Home is where we park it" is our motto but we still consider Florida home. They say home is where the heart is and since all of our children and grandchildren are in Florida.... We also have a lot of friends that we made while living, raising our family,and working that are still living in Pinellas County. These are people we haven't seen in almost three years of traveling in western America. Having grown up in NY and Virginia we have a lot of people from our past still living in or near the I-95 corridor that we also haven't seen in many years. Well we think that will change this next summer.

We have plans that will not include workcamping. First we will head up to Indiana to give our almost 15 year old rig some much needed TLC. Indiana is where most RVs are made and the parts and know how are centered there. What better place to get some of this work done? After that the plan is to travel up and down the east coast and see as many of these long lost friends as possible. We just want to visit some of our old stomping grounds.

Like anyone else we have friends and family from school, from work, and from raising our family. Our travels have allowed us to make even more friends all over the country. We are enjoying our life and consider ourselves very fortunate to be able to look back at how many friends we do have. As Clarence from "It's A Wonderful Life" wrote, "no man is a failure who has friends". With that in mind Mary and I feel we are living a most successful life and are grateful to everyone who has let us into theirs.

With a general outline for next year we will try to make some plans and hope the jello does not get disturbed too much. Keep your eyes and ears open as we firm up our plans and hopefully we can see as many of our friends and family as possible next year.

I will leave you with wishes for you to have a happy and healthy holiday season with those near and dear to you from our home here in the Rio Grande Valley because.....

Home is where we park it,
Frank and Mary