Time calibration

I never thought I’d say this about retirement, but in some ways, time is harder to manage than money.

In the cosmic sense, you think, how much time do I have left on the planet? Another 20 years? Is this how I want to spend it? For the most part, I’d say yes, but then I wonder what I might be missing.

Mostly I avoid thinking about the cosmos as it applies to me. I have a good life and try to enjoy the time that has been given. Still, I’m wondering if I need a time calibration on the simple pleasures of day-to-day life.

I mean, I’ll get up early for golf if I have to, but that’s about it. I’m a fan of the slow start, which means a leisurely breakfast and a slew of puzzles from the New York Times. By the way, I’m loving the new game, Strands.

Then there are chores, exercise, reading, writing, streaming shows, travel, art and the art of food – browsing recipes, shopping for ingredients, preparing meals and enjoying the results! I’m sure the young and busy with their families and jobs and all that are thinking, oh, wah, how hard can it be?

Well, true, it’s not that it’s hard. It’s just that we older folks know the clock is ticking, and it goes back to that cosmic thing. Could I be doing this differently? The big thing for me is setting aside more time to write. Not only for blog posts but also because writers write. It helps me think.

I’ve been reading a lot, but I’d like to try more challenging material. I saw a paperback of All Quiet on the Western Front in our stash, and I barely remember it from high school. And other than one class in college, I’ve never taken to Shakespeare, although it might be time. I’ll need to be upright for that.

Snuggly reading under the covers is better suited for a good who-done-it.

Now that I think about it, I’m doing OK, but maybe a little less golf and a little more in the way of intellectual pursuits. Not that golf doesn’t fry your brain – just in a different way. Anyway, as I was thinking about how I live and spend my time as I age, I started a random list of questions I should probably work through. See what you think.

  • How much sleep is too much sleep? Do you have to stop at 10?
  • Why is everything better with butter?
  • Amazon or Spotify? Do I care what Neil Young thinks?
  • What counts as one glass of wine?
  • Acorn or BritBox?
  • Is it Friday or was that yesterday?
  • If you get up to pee three times in a night, does an angel get its wings?
  • What’s so bad about a gluten-rich diet?
  • Why is it always about the knees?
  • If I can gain five pounds in a week, why can’t I lose five pounds in a week?
  • How many Law & Order reruns can I watch? Am I wrong to love Lenny?
  • Kale. OK, but why?
  • Peeps. Crap candy or nature’s miracle?

There are more, but we’ll stop here so you can get back to the important things you were doing with your time.

16 thoughts on “Time calibration”

  1. I’m so happy to hear I’m not the only slow starter in the morning. I’ve discovered I do better if I go to bed later, so I sleep a little later. Then I spend time on emails, Facebook, and iPad games. It can be almost 10:00 before I eat breakfast!! I love your list of questions. They’ve got me thinking!!

  3. Donna, you crack me up. Like George Carlin’s questions with no answers. Why can’t the 4 food groups be sugar, fat, alcohol & salt? (That’s a reference to Canada’s food guide; I think the US uses a food pyramid.) It is a challenge to manage time in retirement. I’ve always maintained that I have to do time so time doesn’t do me.

    1. I love your food groups. I shared those with my husband, who is definitely on board!

    1. That would be a great name for a documentary about Jerry Orbach. The Jewel in the Crown.

  5. I am with you on this one. I am frequently contemplating, or should I say fighting, the time thing too. When I tell people that are still working that I don’t have enough time in retirement, they just roll their eyes. I would love more time to write. I had that when we went to Florida for a month, and I felt more complete. I had not considered that “writing helps you think” but that is so true. In response to a couple of your questions:

    *One glass of wine is only limited to the size of the glass
    *I have no idea why kale.
    * A hard no on the peeps

    Thanks for a fun read!

    1. I’m too judgmental about my writing, so that inhibits me. But if I remember I need it to think, I can keep going.

      Thank you for the clarification on the size of the wine glass. Now it all makes sense.

  6. For some reason, my body has decided that sleeping in the middle of the night is a waste of time. Fortunately, in retirement, I can usually sleep in to make up for it.
    As far as your wine question goes… the bottle is made out of glass, right?

  7. Now those are some truly important questions! 🙂

    I agree with you about time being harder to manage than money. I have so many things I want to do and yet I fritter time away. But what do I want to do more? Give up my enjoyment of the frittering, or do the stuff?

    1. You make a compelling case for the joys of frittering. Reminds me of that quote by Edna Ferber, “Being an old maid is like death by drowning, a really delightful sensation after you cease to struggle.” Maybe it’s the same with frittering?

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