The following is a post from my website Chrissy…In Her Sixties, which I am currently working on shutting down. The website you are now looking at, That Hobbit Lady, has been with me since November 2004 (nearly 20 years) and contains over 500 posts. In Her Sixties only goes back to 2017, with less than 40 posts. So, you see…in the interest of consolidating, I could either send 500+ posts from That Hobbit Lady to In Her Sixties, or 30+ posts from In Her Sixties to That Hobbit Lady. In addition to the math of that first option not making much sense, it also happens that the term “In Her Sixties” will only to apply to me for a few more years. But I will be a Hobbit Lady forever. So: no-brainer.
By the way, this is my LAST pst coming over from my old blog, and my hope is that from this point forward I will be able to start posting some new content. I certainly have more time to devote to blogging…but will I have the motivation and enthusiasm? Stay tuned and find out!
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October 1, 2023
Let me begin by acknowledging that I have not kept up in this blog as I originally intended. The original intention was to document and share so many of the experiences that a person might go through in their 60’s. I began doing that for a short while, then fell off. And now I am 66 and have missed writing about so many things. So, to begin with, I apologize to anyone who might be reading…but more importantly, I apologize to myself. I’m beginning to learn to do that. It’s part of that long list of things a person might go through in their 60’s. It’s part of growing up. And moving on.
I can’t do anything about the opportunities that may have been missed (although, wait…I have an idea about how to at least partially rectify that wrong—but I’ll get to that later) but at this moment
I want to start where I am now…or actually, about six months before where I am now.
Six months ago today, on April 1, 2023, I retired, and that was the beginning of a truly new phase in my life— a phase that has proven much more significant that the mere turning of a number on a calendar from 59 to 60. This has been in many ways the TRUE beginning of life in my 60’s. Those first five and a half years were just the preamble to the big change. Now the big change is here.
I missed documenting the first six months of my retirement…but no matter. I love the concept of “review,” so that’s what I’ll do now, to jump start what I hope will be the revitalization of this blog. Now that I have so much more time, and so many more aspects of my life are changing, at last I really feel I have something to write about!
So! First, this short review.
On Friday, March 31, 2023, I worked my last day in the office. There was a nice little party for me, with cake and gifts, and though in some ways it was sad to leave my co-workers, in a much bigger way, I was already looking forward to getting up on Monday morning and not having to go in to work. Let me say at the outset, quitting work was never traumatic for me. For one thing, I had spent at least a year counting down the months, then weeks, then days, in great anticipation. And as I counted, 
was also preparing an extensive list of all the things I hoped to enjoy and accomplish in retirement. I was NOT that person who wakes up on that first morning of retirement, makes their cup of coffee, looks at the morning news and suddenly thinks, “Oh Cuss! What the cuss am I supposed to do with the rest of my life?” (Note: I recently watched the charming little move Fantastic Mr. Fox and have since adopted the wonderful habit of using the word “cuss” as a substitute for every actual cuss word—a practice I hope to continue here in this blog, as the need arises.)
So no…not me. I was PREPARED for my retirement. What I was NOT prepared for was getting Covid.
Really. The first thing that happened to me in my retirement was getting Covid. Actually, the very first thing that happened was Russ picked me up at work, we loaded up the trunk with my gifts, some cake, and the last of my personal possessions, and decided to get takeout from Captain D’s to enjoy at home while watching a movie.
Midway through the Captain D’s, I began to realize I was not feeling so well. It was my stomach, so it might have been the food, but it was also my throat. And then my head. And then just incredibly, incredibly groggy and sleepy. I don’t remember how I slept that night, but by the morning I had a fever, took the test and confirmed: Covid.
Now, I had spent the last two years being exceptionally careful and successful at avoiding Covid. So it felt odd that NOW of all times was when it finally hit me. And of course, four days later, it hit Russ as well. By the grace of God, though we were both miserable for about two weeks, neither of us ever got so sick we had to go to the hospital. I won’t belabor the experience any more than that, except to say that mid-way through April as we slowly began to come out of it, it was such a blessed relief to finally begin to approach something that felt like NORMAL life again.
I mentioned already that I never really had a hard time disconnecting from my “work life,” and to tell you the truth, I think this season of Covid coming right on the heels of my last day at the office had a lot to do with it. I suspect that if not for my Covid experience during those first weeks of retirement, I might have spent at least a little of my mental energy wondering how things were going back at the office. But Covid did not permit me any opportunity to use what little mental energy I had to think about anything other than getting me and Russ well again.
There was no mental energy for anything else, and also no physical energy. The house was a disaster! Not only was the living room packed to the gills with all the STUFF I had brought home with me after 16 years in my cozy little “home away from home” office, but basic housekeeping was only accomplished at a bare minimum for those first couple of weeks. But as much as that would have distressed me in normal times, I had to put that to the side, as this was a time of prioritizing our health.
Eventually, Covid waned, and slowly we began to catch up with “real life.” After a few weeks, Russ went back to work, and I began to deal with the house. Every day got a little better, but still I was moving very slowly for quite a while. But that was fine, because, after all, I was RETIRED, so TIME was no longer the pressing issue it had once been.
After a basic cleanup, I began to find new homes from my stuff from the office and integrate the remnants of my work life into my new life. Some items made the cut, but others did not. Over these last six months, I have brought five trunkloads of random “stuff” to Goodwill. TONS of stuff has gone out of the house, and at the moment, it’s looking significantly better. But I will not deny it took a lot of time and effort.
Moving on into May, we finally felt well enough to take a little vacation and did the third of our “Alabama Circuit” trips. This time we visited the Southeast corner of Alabama, which, to tell the truth (and no offense to anyone living in SE Alabama) was the least favorite of our trips so far. I probably enjoyed the Northeast (two years earlier) because it was our first trip, and we got to visit the UNA lion and Frank Lloyd Wright house, and ate dinner in a revolving rooftop restaurant; but I most enjoyed our Northeast trip a year later because we visited the Huntsville area, where we hope to someday move. Someday. Not now. And that’s okay. If I’m learning one thing in retirement, it’s that there is no reason not to pace yourself. Before I retired, my list of “Things to Do in Retirement” contained somewhere between 40-50 line items. Moving to Huntsville is one of them, but I’m perfectly fine until waiting until the Universe tells me the time is right.
So,the Southeast did not have much to offer—besides some well-priced Marvel bobbleheads. The highlight of this trip was staying overnight in the Wind Creek Casino. It’s a lovely hotel and we had a good meal there, but I did not enjoy the
slot machines as much as I had hoped I would. In fact, I would say this visit “cured” me of my desire to play the slots. So in a backwards kind of way, it was a good experience. Not the one I had been hoping for, but perhaps the experience I needed.
But it was still a mildly pleasant trip, and now we look forward to the final trip on the “circuit” when we will visit Southwest Alabama. Here we plan to stay several days on the beach, and hopefully Joey will drive up and visit with us, and we can all go to the Florabama to listen to music and drink beer…but now I’m getting ahead of myself.
Back to the last six months.
After our trip in May, I developed a retinal tear and had to have emergency eye surgery, which was not really “surgery,” but a laser procedure that was mostly painless (The laser was painless, the pressing on the eyeball before the procedure was NOT). The good part is that we caught it quickly before it developed, and now according to the eye doctors I am back down to having a 1% chance of this happening again, same as anyone else. This was the first time I had to use my newly minted Medicare and supplement, and here it is four months later and the only bills we go for the whole episode, after paying the deductible, 
added up to less than $100. So this was a good start to my Medicare experience (unless some late bill for $1,000’s of dollars come in next month??)
In June we went for our yearly visit to Chilton County for peaches and produce, and in July I set up my new aerogardens. I also got myself a snake plant, which I’ve been wanting for a while, since I’ve heard they are so easy to take care of. We took both cars for their six-month service at the Toyota dealership. We probably ate hot dogs on 4th of July, but I don’t clearly remember.
In August we took our yearly trip to the Beach for The Governor’s Conference sponsored by Russ’ office at UA. This was our last time for this trip, last time staying in the Perdido Resort, since next year in August Russ will also be retired.
(When we “do the beach” in the future, as described in my plans above, we will do it on our OWN terms.)
In September I rethought my hairstyle and changed it back to shorter hair with bangs, as I’ve worn for so many years. I really think this works best for me, as my forehead is too big for a simple part. And anyway, I feel younger wearing the “bob.”
In September I did another “Elimination Diet” for nearly three weeks, in hopes of determining once and for all if diet has anything to do with my left eye crossing. I’ve done this Elim Diet three times now. The first time I had a dramatic result—but those results only lasted a matter of days. The next two times, diet has made no difference. In this blog I will probably talk a lot about my left eye, as it is the one most distressing condition I have that keeps my life from being practically perfect. Is it okay to say that? I don’t want to tempt fate, but really, in most ways I feel I am so blessed with health, wealth, love, fun, family and security that I can’t imagine what else I could desire…except some better eyesight. It’s not terrible, it’s just not ideal. Mostly I’ve learned to adjust to it and work around it, but as with everything else in my life, if there’s an opportunity to make something better, I’m asking HOW? That’s who I am. It’s in my DNA.
As you can see, most of what has gone on in these first six months of retirement is not exceptional or phenomenal. No trips to Europe, no plastic surgery, we did not buy a boat. And I never anticipate doing any of those things.
I crave a simple, happy, orderly life. And with that in mind, I can also report, with great contentment, that while I have spent the better part of these first six months getting my literal house in order, I now feel ready to begin thinking about getting my metaphorical house in order as well. Now that Autumn is officially here, there’s a true buzz in the air, and I’m feeling so much more enthusiastic about all my projects.
Slowly I am beginning an exercise program. I’ve established a bedtime routine to guarantee better sleep, and I’m reading more books, watching more fun, inspirational and educational You Tube videos, and generally asking myself “How can my retirement be better than it already is?”
That’s what this blog will be about, as every day I explore potential answers to this question. My life may not be exactly like anyone else’s, but I believe the answers I seek are the same ones so many of us seek— how to find contentment and purpose in a world that has gone out of control. It’s not always easy, with so many other forces working against us, but it is a battle well worth fighting. And winning. Day by day.
