Journal Entry for Wed., May 15, 2019
6:30 am Awoke and began planning my day as I lay in bed; normal routine. Today, though, my mind began planning the next month. So much to grasp right now…last child graduating from high school and getting ready for college; husband retiring; selling the only home we have ever owned; finding temporary housing for me for eight months until I can retire. I’m creating a list in my head. What goes to our retirement lake house with my husband? What stays with me? What will our son need this year in the residence hall and next year in an apartment/house? Can I keep behind a use most of what he will need a year later? Will I then move it to storage from March-May? What needs to be sold, tossed, donated, packed…?
Also, I’ve decided to let go of the frustrations of what we are NOT getting rid of as we empty the home we have lived in for 26 years. Maybe it will get sifted through again Up North, or maybe it will be left to deal with in our next move. Either way, my attitude was turning the baggage into a mountain. In due time….
7:00 am Out of bed. I have a doctor’s appointment at 10 am. What to do with 3 hours instead of going to work? It’s 50 degrees outside so I think I’ll go for a run/walk now, the shower, doctor, work, dinner with friends at 6 pm.
7:30 am Was able to run 2 miles straight; the first time in a couple of years. Then I walked a couple more miles. I’m trying to see if I can realistically train to run the Monumental ½ marathon with my daughter in November. Baby stepsJ.
8:30 am Just chatted with one of my sisters. (She often calls me on her way to work.) We have a younger sister who is a hoarder and can’t make her monthly bills because she won’t cut out/reduce certain things and live within her means. Now she wants to put things in a POD and sell her condo to move someplace more affordable. Not a bad decision but can she purge the excess? I spent 3 days at her house in February, hoping she would continue to make progress but I don’t think she has. I will call her later to try and discuss a different strategy. There are four of us girls and she takes suggestions best from me for some reason. Perhaps because I ask things of her instead of dictating things to her. Time to shower.
10:00 am Physical at the doctor went well…all good news except my RA factor which indicates, still, that I have rheumatoid arthritis. This has come in high for 10 years but I am still not symptomatic. I worry that it might be an indication of something else that they just don’t know about. I will have to visit a rheumatologist next. There is also a new Shingles vaccine out. It comes in two doses but is on a national backorder list. I thought I was done with all of my shots.
11:30 am Leave the doctor’s office and stop for a salad and diet Coke from McDonald’s. Diet sodas are my biggest vice. I drop off my car at home and walk into work. I’ll eat the salad at my desk.
12:00 pm Made it to work in time to go over the summer event calendar with my graduate assistant. We are extremely short-staffed this summer. I had our job posted for over a month and only received one application. Many departments are finding it hard to get students to work on campus for minimum wage, not only in the summer, but all year long. In addition to working on the summer schedule, next season’s schedule, and cleaning my desk, I begin preparations for the big event taking place the next day. My motto is always to be as prepared as you can before the day arrives; leaving time to make adjustments and deal with emergencies.
As my mind wanders to retirement, I’m overwhelmed with the number of projects that I want to finish before leaving my current position. I have been blessed with a career that has afforded me professional growth and continued stimulation. Though I won’t miss working evenings, weekends, and having to remember so many minute details, I will miss the challenges and rewards of my job. With a little break in the event action, I’m able to tackle some of those projects before the craziness begins again in June. Then comes July where I always take 2-3 weeks off before the new semester begins again in early August – which will be my last beginning.
5:45 pm A beautiful night, so I choose to walk the mile to Amazing Joe’s for dinner with two of my oldest and dearest friends in Muncie. Our relationship goes back 26 years with one and 23 years with the other. All our children attended school together and thus have watched each other’s children grow from infancy to adulthood.
6:15 pm Arrive and seated, we begin with an update on everyone’s families. I find it interesting how much that has already happened in the lives of our 26 year olds. They are traveled, cultured, and educated. I compare their experiences to my own at that age. I was the most adventurous of my 5 siblings, and still lagged behind the pace of my children. The world is so small to them, and they embrace all cultures, religions, races, etc. I find some sense of satisfaction in knowing that my three can cook, clean, do their laundry, manage their finances, and travel the world without much assistance. We laughed at the recent news about their generation needing to take “adulting” classes to learn these skills. As conversations moved from family updates to more serious topics, one of friends was ready to call it a night. She loves small social visits, but get antsy when conversations move beyond.
8:15 pm As I’m leaving Amazing Joe’s, I get a call from my high school senior and we run down to Baskin Robbins for some ice cream. A nice treat at the end of the night. I rarely get time with him as he is busy with school, golf, friends and his girlfriend. His Mom, and cleaning out his car and bedroom, are always further down the list of priorities. As I climb into his car I wander if anyone will want to be his roommate after seeing inside his car.
9:00 pm At home I continued to fiddle with tasks that need to be done in the next 45 days prior to packing up our life and moving it to northern, Wisconsin. I don’t know if I’m able to handle the weight of the situation, or I just have too much else going on in my life, but I’m taking it in stride. I made sure our kids had a fabulous Christmas last year. We had a nice gathering at Easter with my side of the family, a tradition that spans a decade or more. The last party will be my son’s graduation party and all three kids will be in town as will many family and friends. I have loved my little house and I’m always thankful that we never moved or upsized. 2019 is full of changes, but all is good.