Today and Beyond

It has been such a long time since I have been here, that I even forgot my login and password to this site.  Lucky for me, I keep a little black book in my purse with all my logins and passwords... frustrating as it is to have to carry such book around - this time, I was glad of it.

It has been an interesting ten months, since last I was here.  In February I lost my job of 17 yrs due to outsourcing.  The first four months of my forced "Retirement" were spent quite pleasantly at home.  I got to experience a bit of what retirement might feel like, when it finally becomes a reality for me. 

It was nice to spend a lot of quality time with my husband.  We found ourselves acting like we were retired - going to McDonalds for coffee and a muffin every morning; Mingling with the seniors who gather there early every morning.  I even let the color grow out if my hair, so I felt like I fit in perfectly in that crowd.

The winter continued to be brutal, so I kept myself busy making and selling sweater sets for my doll groups.  My doll friends were a blessing - they kept me so busy creating that I didn't have time to dwell on the fact that I had been ousted from my job of 17 yrs.

Before we knew it, spring was upon us, and I was making plans to spend a lot of quality time in my gardens.  I had great plans to re-do a lot of my plants which have become less-productive over the years.  I was going to try new varieties and it was in my mind to really get a proper herb garden to make teas  - maybe even a sustainable, profitable retirement venture for the future?

By the end of May, I was beginning to feel the pressure.  We still have a mortgage, loans, car payments... retirement really had not been considered an option for us - so I started job hunting, and I did find a job in my field, and was working again by June.

The job is a blessing in that it is a paycheck, but I find I cannot put my heart and soul in it like I had my previous one.  Resentment, sadness, fear, all seem to have a play in my attitude when it comes to my new job.  But like I always do - I will persevere.

The new plan has become to do all we can to make retirement a reality in less than 5 years.  I hope we are successful, because I keep thinking about that 4 months spent at home, and I realize that after a lifetime of working full time - I am pretty much done with the idea of working at a job.  I have a lot of ideas I would like to try, avenues I would like to persue, and skills I would like to utilize. 

In the meantime, I want to blog.  I missed writing and sharing with my readers.  I have some new things to show you, new stories to tell, new recipies for you to make, and some new fun for us all to have together, so please, come and visit me often... bring your friends along with you (suggest my blog to them).  As usual my topics will be life lived (everyday stuff); creativity (crafting, writing); collections (dolls and now dollhouses as well); beauty(gardening, music, nature, photography); and everything in between...

See you next week!