#21: Smooch

A Monday mid-morning cuddle is a very nice thing....and not something you can do at work!

#20: It Rained. So What?

I can re-do today tomorrow.  And perhaps the weather will be better.

Retirement gives new meaning to the phrase "a month of Sundays".

#19: Freedom to Not Freeze

Today is so hot and humid that I am reminded how I usually went to work on such days with a jacket or sweater in tow so as not to freeze in the air conditioned library. Even so, I was always under-dressed for the inside climate.

Bring on real summer weather, and real summer clothing, and air conditioning that is turned on only if required.

#18: I Can Help

Today I found myself agreeing to canvass in our neighbourhood for Heart and Stroke next February.

Previously I would have equated such additional responsibility with a great deal of additional stress.  I would have refused.  (Please, please -- don't ask me take on another task, especially one that involves walking around after work in the cold and dark asking people for money!) 

It is amazing  how my attitude seems to depend entirely on context.  I will still be walking around in the cold and dark soliciting contributions, but I won't be squeezing it in at the end of a long work day.  So I don't think it will be a burden.  It will do my heart good.

#17: Anytime is Movietime

I went to an afternoon movie (the latest Harry Potter) and didn't feel as if I was playing hooky.  Perhaps this is because it is summertime, and the audience was an all-ages group.

I'll have to try a matinee movie in the fall when I am guessing that the audience will consist of shift workers, folks who are unemployed, and a bunch of other retirees. 

I bet I'll enjoy the experience just as much.

#16: Jet Lagged? OK.

Home again, facing jet lag and mountains of laundry.

But I do not have fake alertness today (or the rest of the week, for that matter).

And I can linger over the laundry as long as I want.  Someone else to actually do the laundry would be better, but I'll take what I can get.  

#15: Note to Self: Buy Bathrobe.

I have discovered, staying with my retired friend Meg, that she inspects her lovely English garden before doing anything else each morning. Wearing a warm blue bathrobe and fuzzy slippers, she strolls from one flower bed to another (she has a big garden) with her first cup of coffee in hand.   

I asked her about this practice and she say she enjoys the garden's peace and beauty early in the day.

Hmmm.  I have a garden.   I have coffee.  I just need to find a good warm bathrobe.