We had not “traveled” for 5 years. Acquiring a second home and feeling obligated to maximize its use with limited vacation time meant that we spent “vacations” in Florida. Florida is, in most ways, not our traditional vacation mode but more just hanging out at the beach for 2 weeks! (Nothing wrong with that at … Continue reading Could I Not Over-plan and Survive?
Most Living with Asperger’s Syndrome information is about the individual who has it and how they can best function in the world. A great deal is written about children and maximizing developmental growth for someone with AS. But what about the people who live with the adult who has Asperger’s? Living with the adult who … Continue reading Living with Asperger’s
Janis over at Retirementallychallenged published an interesting life list she had come across. (I wish I had the skill to do that last line with the appropriate link!) Her blog post made me go on-line to explore other people’s life lists to see if there were some new ideas for my own possibilities list. (There … Continue reading What’s on Your List?
When I chose the word “joy” for this year’s word, I wasn’t sure exactly what would happen. I had my new coffee mug imprinted with “Find Joy In Each Day”. I created my daily affirmation. I was not expecting that much. But I was pleasantly surprised, with this heightened awareness, how I could find the … Continue reading Word of the Year: Joy
Years ago, one of my MegaCorp annual performance evaluation tools we used was called “Start, Stop, Continue”. I’m not sure how broadly this was used, but it was better than the “accomplishments and weaknesses” of previous years. That was before the Discover Your Strengths phenomenon; I always hated the weaknesses area! But the start/stop/continue was … Continue reading Start, Stop, Continue
When I choose my word for the year to be Joy, I wanted to be happier every day. Transitions are hard, and I wanted to intentionally manage the roller coaster of feelings this huge change of entering retirement was creating in my life. Being the geeky researcher, I did a bunch of reading about emotions. … Continue reading Increasing Emotional Awareness
After 2 years into retirement, it seems like my weeks are either full of (self-chosen) activities or completely empty. Full and happy, this-is-great weeks. Or boring, am-I-failing-at-this-retirement-thing weeks. I’ve come to the conclusion that I need a life-concierge, one who is better at time management than me! When you are the concierge of your own … Continue reading Feast or Famine
There is the old cliché “you can’t teach an old dog new tricks”. Oh, I am not saying I am anywhere near being an old dog, but starting new habits/behaviors is not easy. And I find that I am my own worst saboteur when it comes to starting something new! My own inner … Continue reading Shut up Your Inner Critic
When I retired, a few well-meaning individuals informed me that the ideal retirement lifestyle for “someone like me” was 30/30/30. Meaning: 30% of my time focused on work, 30% of my time focused on volunteering, and 30% of my time focused on leisure. Simple as that – go do it. Besides the fact it … Continue reading Retirement Myth Busting
I recently saw another “phases of retirement” description that again highlighted a negative phase – this one talked about a retirement phase where you become bored and depressed. A previous stages review had a stage called “Disappointment”. I’m starting to wonder, at 18 months into this thing called retirement, will I or won’t I…. become … Continue reading Will I or Won’t I…. become bored and depressed?
retirementtransition 