Retirement Musings and Everyday Delights
September is a mixed month. It has some of the best weather of the year, but it's hard to separate that from the sense of foreboding about what comes next. You see the leaves change colour, and you think, "I'm not ready yet! Spring and summer went by too fast!" You have to keep reminding … Continue reading In the September of Our Lives
When I was in my teens, I read a book about a girl who had selective mutism and I've had a fascination with it ever since. It's why I wanted to become a teacher of special-needs kids (that didn't happen). Fifteen years into my career with the federal government, I contacted an expert on selective … Continue reading Are you shy, or just an introvert?
I went to university wanting to become a special-needs teacher. My goal was to work with children in a one-on-one setting, but you had to teach in a classroom setting, which required speaking in front of people. I couldn't do that back then, so I changed the plan. Helping kids learn to read and write … Continue reading Volunteering in Retirement
Last year, we did a home exchange to a chalet near Bromont in Quebec's Eastern Townships. Our longtime friends, Tim and Pamela joined us and we explored the area by bike. So, when we received a request for an exchange in Magog, about 50 kms east of Bromont, we thought we'd try to do a … Continue reading Hot, Humid, Home Exchange
We put a hold on accepting cross-country cyclists as guests for a while, but we've still been doing our fair share of hosting this past week. My sister was here for a couple of days, though she doesn't really count as a 'guest', more like an occasional resident. We ate nachos at a waterfront restaurant … Continue reading Hosting Adventures: Cycling, Guests, and Life Lessons
We had our second dragon boat festival last weekend, competing against teams from Belleville, Kingston, Trenton, Cobourg, and Peterborough. Brighton entered two competitive mixed teams and one recreational team. After the morning heats, both our competitive teams made it into the A-Division finals, along with the team we beat by two-tenths of a second in … Continue reading Chodura Family Paddle-Sail-Swim-Bike-Run Race Weekend
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?
It's been a while since my last post. I was in a slump for a bit. Before I retired, what I loved most about my job was digging for answers. Solving puzzles. Searching for the needle in the haystack. I've learned that I need that in retirement too, whether that comes from researching a vacation, … Continue reading And the seasons, they go round and round
There's a lot of anger on social media these days, and I've been debating whether I'm being derelict in my civic duty by claiming not to be 'political'. I vote, but I'm not otherwise politically active or vocal about political issues. This has been an ongoing theme in my thoughts recently, prompted by the US … Continue reading Be the Change You Wish to See
Contentment comes from being satisfied with what you have. Complacency is when you feel so satisfied that you don't change anything. Can you be content without becoming dull and boring? Is it okay to be dull and boring if you're content? The fine line between contentment and complacency inspired my "60 at 60" list. I'm … Continue reading 60 at 60: Successes and Failures
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