A change is gonna come

Number 22, a gift for my sister, who just retired. Congratulations, Cheryl!

I woke up the other morning thinking, “I should get a job.” I used to like people. Maybe I could learn to like them again.

Yes! I could quit using cannabis, pass a drug test and get back in the workstream. I’ve read there’s a shortage of employees. Except I haven’t read anything about trying to lure back the 50 and 60-somethings they drove out in favor of snappy young talent. So, there’s that.

Oh, and then dealing with all those problematic young people. They are in charge now, and I liked it better the other way around.

I suppose I’d be the new troublemaker, asking for all sorts of special accommodations. You know I can’t sit in a regular chair for hours on end. And such ridiculous expectations. Forty hours a week, seriously? I could maybe squeeze in some Spider Solitaire, but when would I have time to swim, cook, walk, play golf, take naps, stretch or work on my art?

Clearly, a desk job is out of the question. Not good for my health.

Then I thought, I could be a budtender! I could get some training online and apply for a job at a dispensary. I imagined myself, silver hair flowing, adorned in turquoise jewelry, imparting sage cannabis wisdom.

Except being a budtender is a fancy name for working retail. Horrible hours and crummy pay. Sometimes they want you to work at night! What about dinner????? Not to mention whiny customers, and that’s kind of a deal-breaker for me. Any filters I may have had in the past are gone. It’s like retirement truth serum. Now I just say what I think, and I assure you, it won’t be good for sales.

The truth is, I love retirement. Time and freedom is a hard-earned gift, and I have no interest in going backward. My guess is the job idea is more about the ongoing isolation of COVID. Maybe a subconscious yearning for pre-pandemic life?

Except it will be post-pandemic life. Something new, different, maybe better in some ways. I mean, why not? An uncertain future, for sure, but with any luck we’ll still be here to explore it.

I’m ready.

12 thoughts on “A change is gonna come”

    1. Glad you liked the post and the art! My sister loves blue. I had a theme, and I went with it …

  2. It took me years to get used to retirement. We worked almost four decades and never found it a treadmill. I think because we were self employed. Additional I had a so called Minijob at a cute Pet Shop, which gave me cash flow for my personal needs. Miss it!

    Otherwise there is enough time for my activities which are about the same as yours.
    Found a good motto hoodie, Donna: “Eat Sleep Train Repeat”.

    1. Although we have money in savings, withdrawing some of that a little at a time is not the same as having cash flow. In November, I’ll be 66 and two months old, and that’s the magic number for me to start collecting monthly Social Security checks from the government. I can’t wait!!

  4. I can’t imagine working again!! Retirement is too wonderful.

    I love the piece for your sister. How do you come up with your designs? I think the colors are what I find so beautiful.

    1. Hi Linda — I’m so pleased you like Number 22. I’m not sure how I come up with the designs. I like things to weave in and out of each other, and I stick with simple shapes because I can’t seem to do representational art. The colors are fun! I’m using a mix of pencils and acrylic paint. I may try oils next. I’m using what my sister calls “craft paint.” She suggested I go to the fine arts section and look at some of that stuff. So much fun!!

  6. “I used to like people. Maybe I could learn to like them again.” This opening caused me to positively chortle. I don’t dare retire as I can see myself – all too easily – moving from liking to not 😀

    I think you’d make an excellent budtender (never heard that term before) in your own dispensary, where you didn’t have to follow other people’s rules and could become famed for knowing stuff and taking no shit.

    1. I love the idea of being budtender in my own dispensary! I might have to come up with a virtual substitute.

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