Retirement Day # 100
Pandemic Day # 29
15 Days to Slow the Roll Day # 24
On Being Retired
It would be cool to say we became the couple who bought and RV and started roaming the country like some of the Gypsy families who taught Grandpa GreySquirrel to read tea leaves. But we are probably the most dysfunctional travelers ever known to park at the far edges of a Walmart Parking Lot.
We are 100 days into Retirement. For me, nothing much has changed, except my new primary care physician took away my sleep medication I have been using since 2002. This happened in January on a med seeking trip. The visits that happen when the pharmacy sends home a note saying if you want to continue to sleep or move around or keep your heart from exploding your brain, Mrs. Christie, you have to turn yourself in as Proof of Life.
Now that I am completely awake till around 2AM I have done a lot of reading. I remember every snore and movement my husband emits to make sure when I do nod off I don’t sleep too deeply. I don’t know how long this has been going on, but he has this great bewildering need to clutch my arm. He says he has always done this and always will. I am sure if this was an issue way back in dating days, it would have been a deal breaker.
In the past 100 days I have adjusted to having someone around most of the day. I came to terms with having to close the bathroom door every morning. Getting used to really hot coffee is an ongoing problem.
I thought Retirement would be my new way of keeping track of the days.
I have a new system of marking time.
Retirement Day -1
31 Dec 2019
China reported a cluster of cases of pneumonia in Wuhan, Hubei Province. A novel coronavirus was eventually identified.
Retirement Day # 5
5 January 2020
WHO published our first Disease Outbreak News on the new virus.
Retirement Day # 10
10 January 2020
WHO issued a comprehensive package of technical guidance online with advice to all countries on how to detect, test and manage potential cases, based on what was known about the virus at the time.
This was about the time I heard about the virus. It started off at the edge of my reality. If my reality had edges, this was in the upper left corner in brownish-red fine print. It wouldn’t start moving toward the top center for several more weeks.
Pandemic Day # 29
Today marks the 29th day since the Virus became the Novel CoronaVirus or Covid 19. On March 11th, my brother’s birthday, Covid gained the status of a Pandemic. It dropped from the top center of my mind and became Bold Print Heading 1 Redish-Black.
Now, as I lay awake at night I can contemplate how I missed out on the Spanish Flu. My college closed down during that time and students cared for those who fell ill. The McKendree Cemetery has plots of entire families who lost the fight.
15 Days to Slow the Roll Day 24
Today also marks the 24th day of the Great Social Distancing Experiment and it looks like at least 2 more weeks have been added.
April is Poetry Month so I am trying something in the realm of writing with which I have little experience. I can read the heck out of a poem, memorize them, but I haven’t a clue as to how they are written and what makes them tick. If I am even remotely successful in learning this art and craft, I’ll share some here.
