fragile but strong

 

last week, the announcement was made at work that i am retiring after 34 years.

the place that i grew up, the co-workers who became friends and family, the hard lessons learned, the many gifts received...

i was walking away, but leaving behind a lot of my life, my identity, my world.

but when it's not easy to go but even harder to stay, you know it's time.

as word got out, and it became more real,

i could feel the weight lifting off my shoulders.

my smile felt more sincere, my voice was sounding happier. i could hear it :)

 

then, on monday, joey's job unexpectedly came to an end.

he had been there 15 years and this was a way of life, an identity, for him too.

omg OMFG.

every plan that we had painstakingly put in place fell apart.

it was funny at first - how weird that the timing happened this way, chuckle chuckle

then we started envisioning how april -may, june, july etc- would go,

and we both got really scared. and really sad.

this truly was not our plan.

omg

OMFG

 

 

how could we do this? 

this meant we'd have to get health insurance?

we'd be selling the condo and moving to the cape?

what would we do together all day?

should i pull back the retirement, stay where there's security, an income, health insurance, a continuity of our current lifestyle, a daily routine...?

i think we both aged in the 24 hours that followed the announcement that his place of business was closing. 

he has a month from today until d-day.

i have until march 30. it is crazy.

 

 

we talked and we hugged. and slept. and thought.

and we cried a lot.  

and ultimately we made a new decision.

 

we are going to embrace this new world we've found ourselves in as a gift.

for the first time in the 33 yrs that we've lived together,

we will be unbound to 9-5 commitments.

we will need to find new routines. that's a good thing.

we may have less money to spend, but that too can be a good thing.

we never thought we'd be lucky enough to get to retire together.

many people don't get that option in life.

the plan we put together so meticulously didnt hold up long enough for me to even get to the first day of retirement. 

so, there's no plan this go-round.

this time, we just hold hands, and step off the edge, together.

 

fragile

but strong.

 

 

 

 

 

spring dreams :)

to everything
there is a season
and a time for every purpose under heaven...

image was enhanced a bazillion ways,

with pioneer woman's actions,

snapseed software and

multiple textures from kim klassen, including 1402magic and canvasback...

 

here is the original image...

one sweet week :)

starting on sunday, the day after the blizzard,

it was a week of overload...

we dug out on saturday in Connecticut where the snow at house was only 2 feet deep.  in other parts of our little state, they got up to 40 inches. 

and they are still digging out, 9 days later....

 

 

 

so sunday, we headed to the cape to see how our little house 

took the hurricane force winds and heavy snow. 

it was a one day trip - in and out on the same day -

and made for a very long day for both of us. 

joey doesn't do long drives without whining and i am the worst rider ever. 

especially when he's driving. 

but our house was intact, the power there had come back on,

we had a lovely dinner and the ride home DID end. 

so all was good :)

and i got to take pics from the truck as he drove,

which made the ride a little more bearable...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

the rest of the week was work-overload,

from morning to night...

i was in the office, on the phone for hours, and it was grueling.

but i was able to sit near a window and see the birds on the deck

which sure adds beauty to a workday :)

and my valentine surprised me with a bouquet of tulips and iris :)

and we got great news at an appointment with rest of our lives :) :)

so the week of overload ended on a high note and turned into

one sweet week :)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



playtime :)

 

after a week of all-work/no-play, i was ready for the weekend...

 

a week of vacation at cape cod, followed by a week of catching up at work meant the house was dirty.   luckily for me, joey thinks he's the better housecleaner.  he likes to give me instructions, and demonstrations, on how i should clean stuff.  as annoying as that can be at times, i am not a fool.  my housework gets done by mr. know-it-all and we're both happy with the results :)

 

so saturday morning, i went to the river and took pics. lots of pics. then i played with the pics almost all day.

 

on sunday morning, i ran to the park, before enduring my weekly cleaning lesson...i helped with some housework and then played with pics for the rest of the day. 

 

joey and i both thought it was pretty much a perfect weekend. 

am i a lucky girl or what?

:)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 





 

just a quick note....imagine the housework in this beautiful home...

as beautiful as it is, i bet they didn't get playtime over the weekend....

 

 

 

 

winter vacation...

i needed a vacation bad.   my sister needed a vacation, also bad. 

key west wasn't an option this year. 

so we went to cape cod during one of the worst cold spells in years. 

it was utterly perfect :)

 

we sat on our couches in our soft pants,

with our laptops, and worked - or played :) - with stuff. 

pictures for me, etsy/facebook for her...

it was a week of art

and snacks and beers

and fires in the fireplace

and hgtv (or the bachelor, or american idol)

and sunrises in the snow and rides to the beaches

and dinners at some of our favorite restaurants... o m g.  

who needs the heat from the sun

when there is good company and hours for putzing?? 

it.

was.

PERFECT

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

we could not have asked for more...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

a day away...

january is a usually a turning point for me, in my life...

when i think back over the years,

big things happen to me in the dead of winter.

• when i was first married, we lived 500 miles from home. i felt lost, the marriage was crumbling and i didn't have any idea who i was.  somehow in january 1979, i took a stand, held my ground, and we moved home.  it was the end of the marriage and the beginning of being an adult...
• i started with lifetouch 34 yrs ago tomorrow - that changed my life and i've been married to them ever since... for  better and for worse, through sickness and in health, through good times and in bad lol
• i started a part time job as a waitress so i'd have enough money to remain living on my own in my little apartment.  on my first day there, i met joey.  :)
• my sister and i took our first january vacation together to key west - the first of many...we learned so much on these trips, some of it surprising.  big things. life changing things... thank you, january, for the lessons of the green parrot :)
• i've had some tough lessons in januarys over the years.  many work trips, many small things that led to big things.  a trip to jamaica that propelled me to change jobs and therefore change my life, a book that i read that inspired me to start a blog, a trip to arizona that helped me speak up with MY voice...so many roads along the journey seemed to begin in january...

so it is pretty fitting that tomorrow is the first day of vacation.  marilyn and i can't swing the key west trip this year so we are spending a week at cape cod.  i expect it will be a turning point.  i am trying to decide if it is time to retire from lifetouch and this week is going to let me try that on, to some degree. 

 

so january 2013, do your thing...

i trust you, you've been involved in many of the best decisions i have ever made. 

i am looking to you to shine your light and show me the way...

a beautiful morning...

i love the snow, when it clings to the branches. 

it makes everything beautiful...