Retired
Slowing down and stopping to smell the roses has been the theme of my life lately. Ever since I retired from my government job back in May, I have been learning to relax. You read that right, "learning" to relax. I guess my kids were right, I have always been a work-a-holic. It has been something that's been instilled in my dna ever since I can remember. I always felt I had to keep busy being productive even when not at my actual job.
(collage of my hubby and I, me and some time relaxing)
I had been an accountant since 1999 and worked my way up to the title of CFO towards the middle of my career. Being a CFO of several small cities, at one time or another, was always a big responsibility. It involved late nights for council meetings and working weekends to prepare budgets and end of year workpapers. If you are an accountant you know exactly what I mean.
I was not planning on retiring at the age of 52 but circumstances (ie. life) pushed me to do so. So here I am, now 53, and fully retired. Oh, don't think the thought has crossed my mind to go back to work at some capacity or another, but my family quickly reminds me that is all behind me now. So what do I do? My days are filled with walks, reading, cleaning our small apartment and planning our move back to the town we used to live in to be closer to our families. I am also starting to write more. I started a Tik Tok account and am posting my outfits of the day and other random stuff I do for people to watch (you can watch it too, lol my @simple.beautiful.life at both IG and TT).
Writing has been an enjoyable hobby since I was a child. I also have enjoyed journaling and drawing. So, that's what I do now. And I have learned not to make too many plans and live from day to day, enjoying each moment of the day, napping, cleaning, baking, shopping, writing.
(homemade Sangria)
Recently, while I lay on the couch "wasting" time perusing Tik Tok videos like a Zoomer, I remembered a time when I was fourteen years old and on summer break from school. I remembered how I never planned on anything, I just was. I laid around watching movies on HBO, flipped through fashion magazines, cut out pages of my favorite supermodels, and just hung out at home. I was an introvert so I did not have many friends during the summer and I liked it just fine. So, I asked myself, what was different then versus now? I didn't have a job then, I just went to school. I didn't feel bad about not doing much, I just enjoyed the break from a hectic school schedule. I enjoyed the warmth of the sun on my face whenever I walked in the late afternoon to the corner store to buy some ice cream. Then I just walked back, taking my time and taking in my surroundings. I didn't walk fast. I didn't plan on what I was going to do when I got back inside to the cool a/c in our living room. I just ate my ice cream and walked. I thought about that as I lay on my couch a few days ago. I asked myself, why can't I be like that again?
(sunset in Rincon, Puerto Rico)
Until next time,
Patty
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