Retirement? That usually means being busier than ever.
My last years of teaching I had been volunteering with the food pantry at Grace and Holy Innocence Church, which was just across the street from us. When I retired, I continued, only added a few more duties there with it.
We moved to the other side of town and the church seemed to have enough help, so I started volunteering for RSVP (Retired and Senior Volunteer Program) headquartered in the downtown campus, in the literacy program, writing up programs for reading for inner schools, buying books for the program, and also teaching at Toast a couple of times a week, and then being put on their Advisory Panel, all of which I still do. I am on the Theatre Voices board where I help choose programs and direct, and usher, and gofor constantly. And, I am on the Emeritus Center Executive Board as Hospitality Director, and needless to say, that is a busy enterprise.
But things come along such as deaths of dear ones and terrible physical afflictions that do slow us down a bit, push as you may. They are disturbing and disrupt some of what we love to do, but all that is out of our hands.
And, in between all of this, I have been continuing some of my late husband's research, sending much off to archives, writing some myself, trying to keep up with what was so very important to both of us when we were together.
So we go on, with the help of dear family, friends, and God. It's not always easy, but we go on.