Inspiration

We are in good company…

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What could be more beautiful than a dear old lady growing wise with age? Every age can be enchanting, provided you live within it.            –Bridget Bardot, 82

good company
today.com

Beloved Florence Henderson passed away last week at the age of 82.  I grew up knowing her as Carol Brady, the mom, from The Brady Bunch.  I don’t think I ever missed an episode!  Recently, I saw her on Dancing with the Stars and she looked as if she had not aged much at all since playing the role of Carol in the 60’s and 70’s.

In light of her passing, I thought it might be interesting to see how old some of our other favorite celebrities are.  Their words of wisdom came from either imdb.com or brainyquotes.com.

  • Mary Tyler Moore, 79 “Take chances, make mistakes.  That’s how you grow.  Pain nourishes your courage.  You have to in order to practice being brave.”
  • Carol Burnett, 83 “The best advice that I could give is be kind.”
  • Betty White, 94 “Don’t try to be young. Just open your mind. Stay interested in stuff.”
  • Jane Fonda, 78 “Don’t give up no matter how hard it is. Try to make the best of who you are.”
  • Shirley MacLaine, 82 “You are the architect of your personal experience.”
  • Clint Eastwood, 86 “Society has made us believe you should look like an 18-year-old model all your life. But I figure I might as well just be what I am.”

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Peggy Whitson’s age and experience graces the “magic of space” again

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Rocket Woman Peggy Whitson Breaks Records | AARP
Published on Nov 16, 2016

“At age 56, NASA Astronaut Peggy Whitson has spent more time in space than any woman in NASA history. Her career has a long list of accomplishments, but she’s about to add one more. On November 17, she’ll become the first woman to command the International Space Station twice! Follow her journey aboard the International Space Station here: http://go.nasa.gov/2fuZ7Pt“

Want to know more like I did then read on and watch the following video?  Turns out Peggy and I both grew up in rural Iowa, we are close to the same age and we both love gardening!  Who knew?

Astronaut Peggy Whitson:  From Chicken Entrepreneur to Space Station Commander Video

By Steve Spaleta |

“The NASA astronaut has lived the American Dream, starting back when she was selling chickens to make enough money to pay for a pilot’s license. Now she is set to launch to the International Space Station for her 3rd tour of duty. Whitson explains five things you didn’t know about her in this video from NASA Johnson Space Center.”

Click on Peggy’s picture here to view the video:
Peggy Whitson, www.space.com
Peggy Whitson, www.space.com

credit : NASA Johnson Space Center

Caregiver support…can I find the real me again?

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A new purpose: life after caregivingMagazine September/October 2016

by Joene Nelson Werner, Healthy Living Made Simple

September/October 2016

“With one last breath, my life changed.  I had been a 24/7 caregiver to my husband of over 48 years, and in a moment, I became a person without a cause.  While my days had been consumed, leaving no time for myself, suddenly there was no responsibility or accountability to anyone or anything.  A gradual beginning, an abrupt end. What does one do with the freedom that comes from losing one’s purpose?

The Aftermath

He passed November 17 from complications due to Alzheimer’s disease; the last three weeks moved like a train wreck.  It happened so quickly I was left trying to wrap my mind around it.  The holidays were a blur.  I felt so alone and misunderstood.  After several months, my mind still spiraled–no longer a caregiver, no longer a wife.

A year earlier, I tearfully shared with my Alzheimer’s caregiver support group: I’d lost me. Would I ever find the real me again?  I wasn’t sure who I was, where I was or if I’d reclaim my past life.  The years of caregiving with Alzheimer’s were like an out-of-body experience and upon my husband’s death, I was jolted back to reality. Caregiving consumes your identity.  Unconditionally putting another first, I had become programmed.  Being able to put myself first was strange.  It was difficult to accept that I had my ‘me time’ back.”

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Have you ever been “Uninvited?”

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I stopped by Barnes and Noble (B&N) the other day.  I wanted to see what new books they had on retirement or senior issues that I could read and then pass on to you.

Barnes and Noble has changed.  I noticed that the usual rows of beautiful wooden shelves were nearly bare.  Many of the books were facing cover out, as opposed to binding out, just to take up space.  It appears that many shelves now hold home school curriculum and toys. Back in the late 80’s when I worked as a community business development manager at a B&N in Lewisville, TX, I loved going through the rows of shelves to see what just arrived. At that time, the shelves held so many books that there was little room to face a book cover out.  I often went home with a stack of books I’d purchased because I couldn’t select just one or two.

These days most people buy books online or download them to their digital readers.  Lately, with my income being on the low side, compared to when I worked full-time, I either buy them online or check out the book from the local library. However, I have already read all the local library’s books on retirement.  So there I was, looking through rows of nearly empty shelves at B&N trying to find books on retirement.

As I was browsing, I was stopped by a book which was faced cover out right at my eye-level. It was called Uninvited: Living Loved When You Feel Less Than, Left Out, and Lonely by Lysa TerKeurst.  I was familiar with Lysa from her daily uplifting message on K-LOVE radio and Proverbs 31 Ministry.  

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You have an incredible purpose

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images (54)“Choose Life!”

#84-01
Presented on The Lutheran Hour on September 4, 2016
By Rev. Dr. Gregory Seltz, Lutheran Hour Speaker

“Sometimes there are moments in your life when you feel tempted to think that your best days are behind you and your purpose in life has faded.

Dear friends, I especially want you to know, right now, you don’t need to despair. Whatever your situation in life might be, you have a very important job to do. You have an incredible purpose. Embedded in your day-to-day life at this very moment is an important calling.

You heard me correctly. Whether you are a CEO of a corporation, or a mom taking care of her kids at home, a farmer, a laborer, a retiree, or a person struggling with illness or loneliness, you have an incredible purpose; a very important job.

A wise salesman once said that his purpose was not to sell products but to befriend people. That salesman touched on the ultimate purpose that you and I have in life, our calling, job number one. It is to show love to other people.”

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Retirement Adjustment Stages

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adjusting to retirement

I get out of bed at 7:00 a.m. instead of 4:45 a.m.  Instead of driving 30 miles one way to work, I don’t go anywhere unless I want to.  I am home alone most days instead of in a public high school with 1500 people.  In the evenings, I can do whatever I want instead of grade papers or plan lessons.  I can even stay up late watching a movie. When I read the newspaper, I read for  personal information instead of cutting out relevant articles to instruct my business/marketing students.  I can see friends and family, go to the store or do housework when I want, instead of just on the weekends or during school holidays.  I have a sign in my home’s entryway which reads,

“I don’t want to.

I don’t have to.

You can’t make me.

I’m retired.”

Retirement is a different life.  A life I entered into June 1, 2015 and one I have had difficulty adjusting to.

In The Retirement Maze:  What You Should Know Before and After You Retire, the authors would say I am experiencing one of the “…four  phases that deal directly and specifically with retirement adjustment: 1.  The Honeymoon, 2. Disenchantment, 3.  Reorientation, 4.  Stability.”  One year after receiving a glass retirement clock from my employer, I believe I am living in the reorientation phase of retirement.

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My first major retirement/remodeling project…

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Retirement/Remodeling Project–You Can Do This!

When I purchased my home in 2013 I did so knowing I would have some remodeling projects to do.  My first major retirement/remodeling project was changing the 1977 fireplace surround and popcorn ceiling in my family room. Below is the before picture taken by the seller’s realtor…

Fireplace

My son-in-law who lives about 25 miles away and I removed the painted tile fireplace surround and the painted cedar wood slats above it right after I moved in.  We, or should I say he, removed the side box for wood storage and the drywall above it (with my permission). Then it stayed that way, open studs and all, for about two years.

I began the project by stripping the paint off the wooden beams on the ceiling.  This took a bit of time and elbow grease.  A lot of the white paint was embedded in the grain of the wood.  After several coats of Citristrip stripping gel, a scraper and a nail, it was ready to be stained the original dark walnut color.  I filled the beam joints next to the walls with sealant (I used brown DAP window, door and trim sealant).

Next, my son-in-law hung drywall and cement board for me.  We had to add a bit of framing as we kept the original fireplace framing.  Then I taped, mudded and textured the new drywall with all-purpose joint compound and a spray can of knockdown.  I used knockdown in the past when I helped a friend patch some walls.  Easy enough. Painting was next…I have a lot of experience with painting and I enjoy it.  It makes such a difference right away.

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