RETIREMENT--GOOD & NOT SO GOOD!

     AH...THE GOLDEN YEARS!   Isn't that the time most folks look forward to?  But like all the rest of the chapters in our lives, this is but another one to get through.
     OFTEN, I HAVE BEEN ASKED...."what's it like for me as a single lady, to be retired".  I usually answer it this way.  In the first place, to be retired usually means one has reached a certain age, a time referred to as being OLD !  So, that's not so good, unless one is in good health--both mentally & physically.
     AS FOR THIS SENIOR LADY....this time of life has it's perks.  There are no more worries about having enough money to pay the bills each month. There is no need to endure that excruciating alarm clock bell, which dictated our previous working years, when whether we felt like it or now, we had to get up and go to work all those decades ago.  There is no more responsibilities for the health and welfare of the children we were supporting.  But even though they are grown ups, one never really stops being a mother, who is concerned about them.  And then there are grand kids who are both a delight, but represent more additions to our families, for whom we are continually concerned about their future.
     SO, IT IS A MIXED BAG....of pros & cons.  But I must say that it is a less stressful time for me.  I am the final word as to if I want to travel, or how I choose to spend my money. Thus, I do not have to ask permission of any man.  Also, as a gardener, I am free or make a flower bed or plant a tree anywhere on my property, if I so choose. No one but me gets a vote (or a demand) on anything, anymore.  Happily, those days of being under the thumb of another, are gone forever.  And I say a big AMEN to those stressful days of yesteryear. 
     DON'T YOU GET LONELY....some ask?  On occasion, perhaps. But keeping busy with artistic pursuits, e-mail, my blog, sending commentary to the "Opinion  Page" of a couple of newspapers, writing books, gardening, piano playing --you name it--gives me little time to feel sorry for myself. Then, there are my two beloved "best friend" doggies, who love me no matter what.  And  there are  my Spirit Guide & Guardian Angels, who protect me day & night and are ever with me.  So, I am never  alone. But I would encourage all Retired Senior Citizens to keep busy--both physically & mentally.  For you know what they say? "If you don't use it, you lose it!"
     HOWEVER, WITH OLDER AGE & RETIREMENT.... there is much time for reflection as to how we have lived our lives--both good & bad memories continually surface.  Yes, during so many decades,of pain & stress, our lives didn't turn out as we imagined when we were youngsters. Because, back then,  we had such high hopes for our glorious future.  But sadly, with the passage of years, the ravages of  life have beaten us down in many ways.  However, we Seniors should dismiss all those failures, painful episodes and disappointments, if we are to go on into our twilight years with any sense of satisfaction for the life we have lived. 
     GOD EXPECTS NO LESS.....than for us to be proud that we are each a  "spark of the divine", which we are.  And that we have done the very best we could do during this lifetime, given what we had to work with. 
     BUT THERE IS NO DENYING.... that for so many of us, we have had to endure so many dark times, before we could see the blessed light!

                MAY  GOD  BLESS  YOU  ALL -- BOTH  YOUNG & OLD 
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