Oh, please, please stay,
mellow.
I joined the retiree community five years ago, waaay too early for my age. My honey, however, is disabled and (slightly) older than me, and I truly wanted to get as much out of our life as we could while we could. We bought a small RV which we have used to travel over 62,000 miles over the last 4 1/2 years (it's been fantastic!). It has, however, taken awhile for me to get my orientation in the new lifestyle without the constant demands and imposed order of the working life.
Now that I have, however, my honey wants to change it up and move into a retirement community. She wants to "downsize"! I feel like we finally have room to move around within our own home! I barely qualify for "over 55" communities, and I am nowhere near ready to jump into a CCRC. Soooo...
Instead of the expense of a CCRC (at least for now), I have convinced her to spend money on fixing up the house we're in (new roof, new fence, landscaping) so we can enjoy it, and get outside help and resources in the community. She finally (after 5 years of nagging) acceded to hiring a housekeeper! We joined our city's "Senior Activity Center" (the average age is easily 15 years older than us), but there are activities and classes and groups we can participate in (although I have yet to find a motorcycle riding partner... durn). I have signed up to be a volunteer, although I warned them I may become unavailable for stretches of time (especially as the election gets closer).
For years now my primary source for political discussion has been the Rant. Neither my son nor my wife puts up with it much, and I have to turn off the news whenever they enter the room (seriously, they insist!). You, my friends, are my lifeline and my sanity, even if some of you are off your rockers!
