Call Me Phoenix

After death. Near death. Long tunnel with bright white light. Beckoning warmth and happiness. I'm not in poor health but I'm already starting to be beckoned toward a warm white light with a name. Its name is "retirement" and it seems amazing.

Long halcyon days of lying out on a lounger in the sun. Endless sunny skies with just one or two clouds. Oh, I could go on.

Finishing up that last year of paid employment prior to the huge financial challenges that retirement brings isn't really too swift if you're like me; not the best money planner in this life.

We've had fantasy dreams, you and I. Retirement beckons with its siren call and we advance willingly. Faith--we have it. Blind hope is what we've got. I know I'm not the only one who will absolutely love spending more time with my grandchildren and adult children. I have promised myself to learn how to sleep in and not feel guilty about watching daytime TV. I'll extend my computer hours with no regrets.

Remember when we were in our 20s and the we could do anything? ANYTHING. We could stay up all night and still party all day. I am going to stay up all night and sleep all of the next day. I am. How about you? Do you look forward to a retirement where you can sleep?

Sadly and truthfully most of us will have sublimated our own desires to practicalities for many (too many) years. We were accustomed to putting the wants and needs of others before our own wants and needs. So much so that it seems the norm. Call me Phoenix because I am going to rise from those selfless years and become a shimmering avatar of new discoveries.

I am starting small and diversifying from just two (I hesitate to call them goals because I hate that word) projects. First, I need to learn how to sleep in. I particularly need to learn how to wake up feeling calm. The next learning project for me will be time management on a weekly platform. You felt I might say financial management but that is just way too huge for me to attempt right now until I get the sleeping and weekly calendar into some kind of pleasing pattern.

Call Me Phoenix and watch me rise from the ashes of a highly routinized work week.

Senior Tech Tip: Online calendars really help. (I use the integrated Google calendar that you get for free when you sign up for your free gmail.) It's very easy to add events or appointments to your online calendar and you even get reminders, in your email, in advance. I admit to missing some medical appointments before I started using the Google calendar.