Retirement Musings and Everyday Delights
When I took the pre-retirement course at work, they asked us to make a list of what aspects of work life we might miss, apart from the work itself. I thought I'd miss spending time with young people. Most of my team was in their twenties and thirties, and I liked being around that youthful … Continue reading Aging is Relative
We hosted five Warm Showers guests this week, two couples around our age, and a university student. All five had set off from the west coast and are cycling to the east coast. When one of the couples arrived, I told them Ray was out sailing. They saw a bike hanging in the garage and … Continue reading How important are shared interests in a relationship?
We competed in our first dragon boat festival of the season, a full-day event with 69 teams entered. Our club put in a women's team and a mixed team and we finished second in each of our divisions. We only had 33 paddlers and there are 20 per boat, so the women did double duty. … Continue reading Paddling Through My Insecurities
I've been thinking lately about the difference between hobbies and passions. I've started dragon boating again, which I enjoy, but I also know there are some people who really love it and can't wait to get back on the water again. Ray enjoyed curling a couple of times a week over the winter, but there … Continue reading Hobbies vs Passions
After Ray's initial 128 km cycle day, his second day - at half that distance - should have been an 'easy' ride. It wasn't. Day 2 - Lucknow to Brucefield (65 kms, total kms: 193) He faced the same extreme heat and humidity as on day one, but with a strong headwind added in. Then … Continue reading Ray’s Ride, Part 2
Ray started his ride at 7:30 this morning, hoping to beat at least some of the afternoon heat, with temperatures expected to reach 40 celsius with the humidity today. When our article came out in the Globe & Mail, we didn't expect it to increase donations, but we hoped it might reach someone who was … Continue reading And he’s off…in record-breaking heat
But the thing about the last timeIs you don't know that it's the last time 'til it is The Last Time, Tenille Townes For most of the last decade or so, Rob & Sue have opened their cottage to our gang for a weekend every summer. Often that's meant fitting 21 of us around the … Continue reading The Last Time
Ray and I hadn't expected to have quite so many guests when we signed up for Warm Showers, but we're basically the only host between Toronto and Kingston, so we get more requests than most. The first time we hosted, Ray cooked a nice dinner and I baked a dessert. We made up the beds, … Continue reading Living on the edge
Celebrating my sister's 60th birthday last week got me thinking about aging and mortality. As Karen was quick to remind me, I'm only 20 months behind her. The average age of death of our grandparents and parents is 66, so in that context 60 feels like a scary age. If we stick with just our … Continue reading Life is short. Climb every mountain.
Adventure vs stability, novelty vs routine...where are you most comfortable on that spectrum? I wrote a while ago about identifying my core values in retirement - purpose, connectedness and adventure. The first two are pretty universal, but the third one is more individual. Some people thrive on change, while others prefer the comfort of routine … Continue reading Adventure vs Comfort
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