Monday, January 8, 2018

A New Year

And now let us welcome the new year, full of things that have never been.
 - Rainer Maria Rilka

The holiday break was wonderful, though woefully short. The weather turned brutally cold the weekend of New Year's and just today started to warm up. 

We had a snow day on Thursday, when a storm swept through with a foot of snow and a couple hours of blizzard conditions in the afternoon. Ken got up and went to work before the snow started. Wednesday night I got the call that school would be closed... 

and I reveled in the thought of being home alone all day. There was the gray stillness that precedes a storm, and the house was filled with natural daylight through every window. Coffee in hand, I periodically looked outside for snow. There were sewing projects in progress in two rooms, laundry going downstairs, and preparations for a pie underway in the kitchen. I walked on the treadmill, caught up with people online, worked on organizing last year's photos, and tidied surfaces as I moved through the house.

I wrapped myself in the day, an unexpected opportunity to enjoy all my favorite things at home. 

It may be the last snow day I have at home alone. 

As of today Ken is retired. Officially he is on the rolls until the end of the month, but that's as much a formality with the union as anything. He worked the first week of the new year because of a technicality that will work in his favor. It also gave him a chance to have breakfast and lunch with co-workers to say farewell.

I have known for a year this this day was coming. It wasn't my decision to make but one I have to live with now. I haven't been able to see all that this means for the future, and I had to let go of trying to figure that out. I know I will miss my solitary routines and the days home alone when school is not in session. This is a life-changing event that I have no control over. I haven't written about it and will share few details here about my struggle with this decision over the last year. There have been lots of ins and outs, and there are still some things to put in place. Perhaps as the dust settles I will figure out a way to share how I'm feeling as we go along.

Some months ago I turned to the serenity prayer as I settled into bed for the night. I was reaching for something I could repeat in hopes of soothing my overactive mind so I could get to sleep. I would say all three lines, and then I would repeat the first line again and again, sometimes until I fell asleep ~ God please grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change. It helps, and a week ago it became obvious to me that my word for 2018 is acceptance. It fits. It showed itself and made itself at home to help me start the year.

Thank you to all of you who have stopped by to check in. It has been good to reconnect. I have missed writing and plan to be more present in the coming weeks.

And now let us welcome the new year, full of things that have never been

3 comments:

ellen abbott said...

it will be a big adjustment for both of you. I hope he has plans for his time now...a hobby or volunteer work, something to occupy him. that's the biggest mistake men make (I think women have no trouble finding things to do) when they retire. all of a sudden they have nothing to do. this is my observation. since my husband and I worked together I've never had time alone. now, all these years later, we mostly stay in separate rooms until evening and lunch, we eat lunch together. we do take trips apart. he's going to Colorado for a week with my brother in February, I'm planning on a couple of weeks in Portugal in May.

Anonymous said...

My husband has been semi-retired for a few years, after he sold his firm, though he still has some work projects. I've worked from home since our son was small (he's grown now), so I had to get used to sharing "my space" as well. I've written about this topic before, and all the experts I've interviewed for my columns told me that it's best for retired couples to keep separate offices or studios, and to be sure to have your own group of friends/social life in addition to the friends you share as a couple.

My husband and I have our own work-at-home spaces and craft areas, and we make a point of having lunch out with our separate friends occasionally - though we eat dinner together most of the time. We are both good at entertaining ourselves alone during the day, which really helps.

I actually find that I enjoy having him around (most of the time) !!

Cindy L said...

Sharon, I meant to leave my name with comment above, but somehow it didn't work.