Roaming and Retirement: Tuesday's Reflection

Hey, Downton Abbey fans, remember the Dowager's question,


"What's a weekend?

In our retirement or semi-retirement years we might ask a similar question? What's the difference between a weekday and a weekend? Some of the boundaries around time have loosened. Instead of waiting eagerly for the weekend to appear so we can ____ or _____ (Fill in the blank.), we now have greater flexibility. 

The trick is adapting to that flexibility. 

At the beginning of last week I suggested we go visit some of the nurseries and greenhouses listed in an article in the St Paul Pioneer Press. We had been to most of them in the Twin Cities, but not the ones in the outlying areas. My husband and I love to roam, and I was yearning to get out into the country. Our first thought was to do that on Saturday, but Thursday evening, I posed a novel idea. How about tomorrow? Friday? We had nothing on the schedule, and there was absolutely no reason to wait till the weekend.

A few weeks ago we met friends for brunch on a weekday morning,  which felt slightly decadent and rebellious. And delicious. 

We can do this. We have the luxury of doing this. Let's do it.

The opposite is true, also. My husband works part time at home for Agrace Hospice in Madison, WI. An online position which he can do on his own schedule. That means sometimes he works on a Saturday or Sunday or early, early in the mornings or whenever. Not just Monday through Friday, 9-5. And I can write whenever I want to write. The only clock either of us has to punch is our internal one.

Old habits die hard and acting on this freedom doesn't come naturally. So what's next? Maybe a middle of the day movie on a Tuesday or a dinner party on a Wednesday night. What a concept! 

An Invitation
How has the concept of time changed for you as you have gotten older? I would love to know.

Photographs
#1  Funkie Gardens, Marine on St Croix, MN
#2  My Sister's Garden, Hudson, WI
#3  Country Sun Farm, Lake Elmo, MN