Inspiration

Choose happiness and new lighting

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“Happiness is not something you postpone for the future; it is something you design for the future.”

–Jim Rohn

As you may know, I recently purchased and moved to a new home in a new town. The home I purchased was not what I was truly hunting for but it was in the right location. The night before closing I walked through the home, the “final walkthrough” they call it. I told my realtor I changed my mind and I didn’t want the house any more. The house was beat up. The trim was chipped, the overall paint job could have been done better by my grandchildren, it seemed darker than I remembered, drywall patch jobs were elementary at best, and the place was just dingy and dirty. Despite the condition, I closed on the home the next morning and got to work. I was determined to choose happiness.

Little by little, I am working to design this shell of a house into a happy home, a home with some class. One of the many things I learned from my past moves is not to wait until you sell a home to spruce it up. The sooner you make it yours the better. One major aesthetic change I made was the main floor lighting.

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Cabin update – waiting

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It’s been awhile since I have written a cabin update on my mountain property. The reason is heartbreaking really. A year ago my son-in-law and I removed the tongue and groove pine and the rodent infested insulation from the cabin’s interior. We stripped it down to the studs. I signed a contract with a structural engineer to begin work on improving the cabin and adding a septic system. I also got a bid on refurbishing the original 1938 stone fireplace. Everything was working according to plan until I received an email from my ex-husband.

It read, “I am retiring in January.  40 years. Per previous communications, I will be filing to terminate maintenance. I am traveling for the next week.  If we can not come to an agreement, I anticipate we will file for maintenance termination in September with a January effective date.”

It could not have been worse timing. I made an appointment with an attorney to discuss options. His advice was to put off improvements until I knew what my income was going to be and whether I would be able to keep the property. So, I cancelled the contract with the structural engineer and put the fireplace work on hold. I was heartbroken. My childhood dream was possibly going to be taken from me. A dream possibly unfilled. I waited to be served court papers.

And waited.

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“If you want to end your isolation,…

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end-your-isolation
riesphotography.net

you must be honest about what you want at a core level and decide to go after it.” —Martha Beck, best-selling author, life coach and speaker

It has been four years since I retired from teaching full time. Even after all this time, I still struggle with the lack of social interaction and isolation, but I’m working on it.

The high school I taught in was populated with 1500 people; more than many Wyoming towns. It was difficult to find alone time as a teacher. Now, in retirement, it’s just the opposite; lots of alone time. I long for something in between and end the isolation.

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Becoming a CASA volunteer

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Tonight, I begin my training to become a CASA volunteer. What’s CASA? It stands for Court Appointed Special Advocates. I have been searching for a meaningful way to make a difference after retiring from teaching and I believe this opportunity is a great fit for me. I’m excited.

Casa Logo
https://casaforchildren.org/

According to the promotional brochure, “The Court Appointed Special Advocates program recruits, trains, and supports volunteers to advocate for children who have been victims of abuse or neglect. CASA volunteers are appointed by judges to represent the best interest of the children. Volunteers visit with the children weekly, gather information from family members, medical professionals, teachers and therapists, and then make recommendations to the court regarding services for and placement of the children.”

In the process of becoming a CASA volunteer, I attended orientation, filled out an application with references, been interviewed, observed court proceedings and had my background checked. Starting tonight, I will complete about 30 hours of training (in person and online). If all goes well I will be sworn in May 29th as a new Larimer County CASA volunteer, but more importantly I can once again make a difference for kids.

If you want to get involved in Larimer County CASA or find out more about it, go to www.casalarimer.com.

Change your retirement life in 2018

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As 2017 ends and 2018 begins, it is a time of personal reflection.  I began 2017 feeling quite bored in my retirement life, even though I was writing this blog and learning about search engine optimization, as well as substituting part-time.  Then, I read Ernie J. Zelinski’s book, The Joy of Not Working.

change your retirement lifeI especially enjoyed the chapter titled Somebody is Boring Me; I Think It Is Me.  I got to work on “abolishing my boredom.”  Zelinski wrote, “By undertaking difficult and uncomfortable activities, we experience satisfaction and accomplishment in our lives.  This means being truly alive, with little or no room for boredom.”  That chapter changed my retirement life.

In March of 2017, the homeowners’ association (HOA) where I live held its annual meeting.  I attended and volunteered to serve on the board of directors for three years, a “difficult and uncomfortable activity.”  At our first board meeting in April, I was elected president of the HOA, another “difficult and uncomfortable activity.”  After basically “righting the ship,” the new HOA board is now preparing for the 2018 annual meeting.

In July, I read in the local newspaper that the school district was looking to add new members to its master planning committee.  It was a three-year commitment.  As a long time education advocate, I filled out the online application and sent it.  I was accepted as a member despite the fact I told them I was a fiscal conservative.   We meet the first Monday of every month during the school year and discuss topics such as boundary changes, school closures, etc.  The politics are “difficult and uncomfortable activities” but I feel I bring a new perspective to the table since I voted against the last bond election which was defeated.

In August, I saw a real estate posting on realtor.com for a 1938 cabin on .78 acres for sale in Glen Haven, a small town about 15 minutes outside Estes Park and Rocky Mountain National Park.  I had looked for a fixer upper project or a cabin get-away for several years.  This cabin needed a bunch of work and was listed for $98,900.  I offered $85,000 and got it.  My son-in-law, Dave, and I took on the “difficult and uncomfortable activity” of demolishing the mold- and rodent-infested cabin addition by hand this fall.  Now, the original cabin is buttoned up for the winter and it is, more importantly, dry and rodent free.  We plan to begin rebuilding next summer.

Zelinski said, “Only by doing the difficult and uncomfortable can you make your life more interesting and fulfilling.”  I have taken on “difficult and uncomfortable activities” this past year and in doing so I have felt more alive and less bored.  I am more happy and content than I have in a long time.

I am glad I read Zelinski’s book and followed his advice.  I am also glad you follow this blog and I hope you consider taking on “difficult and uncomfortable activities” in 2018 and change your retirement life.

WISHING YOU HAVE A HAPPY, HEALTHY AND PROSPEROUS NEW YEAR!

Cause for celebration – six week cabin update

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celebration six week
1938 cabin after addition was removed, October 29, 2017, Photo by slc

Six weeks, three 18 yard dumpster loads and 145 “man” hours later, we have completed the demolition of the non-permitted, mold and rodent excrement filled cabin addition.  All that is left is the flooring and the lower level deck.  This accomplishment is cause for celebration!

What I learned from the demolition:

celebration six week
Third dumpster load, Photo by slc

  • Wear protective clothing, goggles, and a respirator.  You can never be too careful as my son-in-law found out when he opted for hiking boots instead of professional work boots and took a nail through the bottom of his foot.
  • Make sure you’ve had a tetanus shot in the past seven years.
  • Try to place the dumpster as close to your work site as possible.  Due to all the large beautiful moss-covered rocks and the slope of my property, we were unable to have it close to the addition.  This less than ideal placement required lots of walking, carrying and pushing a wheelbarrow of debris to the dumpster about 50 feet away from the work site.
  • When working remotely as we were, it was important to bring the necessary tools each day to the work site.  We often needed nails we didn’t have, so I often removed nails from the demo debris to reuse.  One day I forgot to bring the circular saw so we ended up cutting some ceiling joists with a hand saw made to cut tree branches.  We could have left our tools in the cabin but felt that it just wasn’t secure enough.

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The sign I needed

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the sign
Bald Eagle, Photo by slc

Years ago my late Father visited my family in Colorado to help with a basement electrical installation.  I believe it was around Thanksgiving and while having a meal in the dining room, my Father saw a bald eagle for the very first time in the sky outside the window.  He was very moved and excited to see America’s majestic icon.

My Dad passed in December of 2013.  Several months later, I was speaking to my daughter on the phone.  We talked about my Dad and the subject of my receiving a small inheritance from his estate came up.  I told my daughter I hoped to use that special gift to purchase a piece of mountain property some day as my Dad loved the mountains.  Right then a bald eagle flew toward me on the deck and then flew over my house.  I felt it a sign that my Dad approved of my use of his gift.

Last week, I realized I needed reassurance that buying and fixing up the cabin in the mountains was what my Dad wanted for me.  I needed the sign of an eagle.  Today, I got that sign.  While driving home from a beautiful afternoon of work at the cabin, I spied a bald eagle in a tree along the North Fork of the Big Thompson River.

Thank you Dad for the sign and the gift of the cabin in Glen Haven.  I love you for it and I hope you are proud of me!