Talking to Joe

We had the house to ourselves today. We did laundry, read, and talked to each other.

Talking to each other isn’t something new. We have been doing it for over thirty years. The nature of our conversations has changed since our retirement.

Past conversations were at the end of the workday when we would share how our day went. It was our way of unwinding and reconnecting. Pre-retirement we also talked about a book, movie, the kids, life.

Since our retirement we talk about the book one of us read or the movie one of us watched. We talk about how Joe’s walk went. We discuss our take on a person we just met. We talk about our kids and grandkids.

This year we have been on the road quite a bit and talked about the sights we saw, people we spent time with, and places we wanted to visit. Depending on who was driving, the other person would Google a town we were driving through and read the information aloud.

I don’t miss the talks about our workday. Mostly because in the past few years I was letting my work life overtake about 75% of my headspace. Had I not had amazing friends, the CALM app for meditating, and Joe the work life in my head would have been more like 98%. I am not exaggerating.

There were moments over the past ten months when I’ve wondered if I’d have anything to say to Joe or friends. I should have known better. I love words. Reading them, writing them into sentences, speaking them.

Joe asked me today if I still enjoy writing my blog. I told him, “I think so.” Somedays I feel guilty that I have no desire to publish a book.  All I want to do is write. If someone wants to read it, I am glad. I hope it lifts the reader up and gives them insights into what life looks like after retirement, or after moving across the country, or for family and friends just to know what I’m up to these days.

Don’t be modest about asking me questions if something I write about seems odd, just plain wrong, or needs a correction.

The weather forecast is predicting some snow toward the end of this next week. We are getting our snow tires installed on Thursday.