It occurred to me I’m entering my sixth year of retirement, and it seems like it gets better every year. I still rather like the image of me as a slightly eccentric Bohemian heiress who dabbles in what amuses her. Although I am of Bohemian stock, nothing in my lineage includes money, so sadly, I had to earn my little nest egg.
Although I always had creative drive and longed to be a free agent, writing and puttering as I pleased, I didn’t have the will to live in poverty, as is so often the case with idealistic free agents. Instead, I chose a life of working for the man until there was enough to retire, and now I can dabble to my heart’s delight. Some of my jobs were pretty darned good and some sucked, but now I’m glad I stayed the course.
I’m reminded of a woman I use to work with. I made director before she did and was included in a variety of events for “directors and above.” When she wasn’t invited to said events, she’d say, “Another year of being a nobody.” She eventually got promoted and is presumably happy being somebody. I don’t miss all that faux specialness and have settled quite nicely into being a nobody.
While I do believe in the power of positive thinking, I also think there’s a case for not wanting too much. Not everything has to be bigger, faster, stronger or better in every way. For example, I’m a decent golfer, but I tell myself it’s OK to just play. Sometimes you will play well and sometimes you will not.
Hit the ball, hit the ball again. That’s my new mantra.
I also love word games and can be quite competitive. I quit playing Wordle for a few weeks because I was so angry I lost a game. I’m back to playing and have a nice streak going, but before I play, I tell myself, “You will lose. Accept it.” Somehow preparing for less than stellar results keeps me grounded.
Which brings me to Ray Wylie Hubbard, the renowned Texas musician. One of his notable songs is Mother Blues, a song where he and his guitar tell a richly layered life story. It’s such a cool song, and the last lines are pretty powerful.
And the days that I keep my gratitude
Higher than my expectations
Ah! Well, I have really good days
That’s kind of where I’m at.
In other news, Dale and I took a little overnight road trip to Bodie, CA, a state historic park and famous gold mining ghost town in the High Sierra’s. Like 8,000 feet high. From our house, we drove almost to South Lake Tahoe on the western side of the Sierra’s and then turned off to cross a high pass that takes you to the eastern side. I’m geographically challenged, so I hope I’m explaining this correctly. In any event, the scenery was spectacular.
The closest town is Bridgeport, and then it’s another 30 minutes to Bodie – the last 10 miles on an unpaved road. There’s a short window of opportunity to see Bodie because the road is closed most of the year due to snow.
The park is in the state of “arrested decay.” Homes and commercial businesses still stand with the remnants of furniture and goods inside. You can wander freely and peek through the windows, and see what was left when the town was abandoned. It’s pretty amazing.
The gold there was not panned from rivers like you see in the movies. It was hard rock mining, where gold was extracted from quartz they dug out of the mountains. There’s a huge mill that crushes the rocks, much of which is still standing.
We spent the night at an inn in Bridgeport. There was a restaurant inside, but it was sort of high-end dining, and we weren’t really in the mood. Instead, we walked across the street and had burgers and beer. We haven’t been out to eat much since the pandemic and the prices were rather surprising. Cheeseburger for $16. However, it was a great burger, I’ll give them that.
Both of us enjoy these short trips. We had a great time, but even after one night away, I can’t wait to get home. We are planning more, especially since I’ve finally come to terms with Covid and am now thinking of the risk as something like the flu. I’ll get my shots every year and take reasonable precautions when the numbers are high, but by and large, I’m going back to business as usual.
That’s the secret, isn’t it? To keep gratitude higher than expectations.
Well put, Ray Wylie Hubbard!
Thanks for sharing, Donna.
Deb
I do love that quote. Glad you liked it!
Another of your very nicely written posts! Short & sweet! And, as usual, it includes info, wit, wisdom and reveals a little bit about you! Thanks for sharing!
What a nice compliment — thank you!!
Wow, an actual ghost town. I find it fascinating that people leave without taking everything. Glad you’re doing things again and not letting COVID scare you away. I just got the new booster so I’m feeling pretty safe.
It was kind of wild to see all that stuff just left behind. But it’s not easy to get in and out of that place today — I can’t imagine what it was like then.
Yes, it feels good to be less fretful about Covid. We’re getting our boosters this week. Yay!
I love the line, “keep my gratitude higher than my expectations.” I think if we all could do that, we’d be in a much better place.
Although I missed Bodie, hubby and I were in that area earlier this month. Those mining operations were amazing… and brutal.
The mining operation really is incredible. The work and the lifestyle was brutal. I can’t imagine living in Bodie year-round. I guess they had to get all their food and goods for the year before the snow hit.
Love the “gratitude higher than expectations” quote. Sometimes it is a hard thing to do. I often let my high expectations of an experience or trip spoil the whole thing because it didn’t turn out to be as grand as I thought. I’m getting better at being thankful to just have the experience or trip and savoring the moments a little more as I get older.
I agree, it’s not always easy to keep gratitude higher than expectations. But bloated expectations have not served me well!
Mindset is important. I’m a mixture of planning for the worst and thinking positive. My ex hated that, whenever I drove, we could park easily & conveniently, whereas when he drove, we struggled. He used to stress about all things driving and parking, whereas I don’t. Did that make a difference? Honestly, who knows. But I’m not always lucky with parking, although he’d insist otherwise.
That’s an interesting question. I know there are people who literally pray for good parking places. I’m kind of reluctant to use any goodwill that may be coming my way on something like a parking place. I feel like I’m gonna need it for big stuff.
We live in So Cal and love Bodie. We have a trip to Tahoe planned for this winter and you reminded me we should stop in Bodie on our way.
I really like the saying about gratitude and expectations. Not always completely doable, of course. We had a family trip to Hawaii this summer that had been months in the planning. I was soooo looking forward to it. Every detail had been taken care of. It turned into an unholy disaster, and some relationships ended forever. I was heart broken. Damn, but life can kick you around.
I’m not sure you can get to Bodie in the winter!
The Hawaii trip is a sad story. Man, you must wonder how it all went wrong. Here’s to better times!