It was my first full week of retirement and it was ridiculously hot and humid all week - 91 on Monday and 91 on Sunday with high 80's in between. Crazy for mid-September! I had to turn the AC back on so was mostly working in the house. And work I did but not much on Monday because I was recovering from spending all weekend cleaning the garage.
I started the week breaking up sticks from the brush pile behind my garage. It's mostly branches that have come down over the years from the silver maples but had grown quite large. My plan was to get it all broken up for future fires and then spread the entire garden area with wood chips from the last of the pile on my alley. It was cool enough to be outside first thing in the morning but I spent the afternoon reading inside. I was reading All the Colors of the Dark and wanted to return it that night. I finished it at 5:58 and so was a few minutes late to knitting. Oh well. When I got home, I needed to put the trash can at the curb but it was so heavy that I couldn't tip it onto its wheel so dragged it down 6 inches at a time. Sheesh!
Tuesday was a Lincoln day. I had a few reasons to do Tuesdays on a regular basis and had scheduled lunch with Dodie but when it comes down to it, all my office friends aren't there on Tuesdays so I'll be rethinking that. Anyway, I was going to Cindy's on the way to Lincoln and had a detailed list of stops before and after lunch with Dodie on campus. So what did I do first thing but lock myself out of my house. I called my friend Lorri who has a key and thankfully she came right over. I went straight to Cindy's for a tour of her schoolie (a school bus they had converted to a camper) and then had to go right to campus for lunch, which was fun as always. I pared down my list of stops in favor of hanging out with Anne, who was leaving for a 3 week trip. I had a library board meeting, which was my first as president, so I got it done in record time so I could be home for the debate. I watched the entire thing and all I can say is holy crap!
I had another big to do list for Wednesday so after breaking more sticks in the cool morning, I started. Laundry, dishes, organized knitting projects and then started going through the laundry room. When I finally sat down at the end of the day, I reached down to brush something off my foot and pulled a muscle in my lower back. Yes, just reaching down to my foot. I couldn't stand up straight but sitting was no problem so I spent Thursday taking muscle relaxants while streaming and knitting. Luckily sleeping wasn't an issue.
I was almost back to normal on Saturday so got some light housework done and went to bed early to read. I did a bunch of cooking on Sunday and at the end of the day, moved my new chair, which had been sitting in the middle of my front room for 2 months, to my back room. I was happy to have my back fully functional again.
Everyone says that when you retire, you need to adjust to it and figure out what works for you. Well, I clearly need to work on that because if the past 2 weeks are any indication, I'm doing it wrong. While I want to get things done, I'm doing too much and working too hard in too short a time, which is too much for my 63 year old body. I need to work on breaking my big projects into smaller parts and spreading them over multiple days. Other than socializing, I can be home most days so need to stop cramming everything in like I have done on weekends for decades. I also need to give myself permission to relax. I'm enjoying reading during the day so need to do more of that. Wish me luck.
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