Work, work, work

Hi neighbors. Is it spring yet, or should I crawl back under my rock with Phil the groundhog? I called my daughter Thursday morning to warn her to stay home to avoid the blizzard due to hit Des Moines that day. She said she might cancel all of her classes and stay where it was safe. I know her -- she didn't.

I was talking with a friend the other day and she was rattling off the names of all the people who had obits in the newspaper this week. "Nancy, I went to school with more than half of those people! Why did they die so young? It makes me nervous." I asked her how much older than her they were, if they went to school with her.

She laughed and replied, "Well, I guess some of them are even younger than me. That's hitting too close to home."

As I get older, I find myself reading the obits to keep up with friends and family. I suppose there are more back-and-forth, face-to-face, ways to do that, but work seems to take up most of my time and all of my energy. If it weren't for nervous energy caused by high blood pressure, I probably wouldn't have any energy at all.

A friend of mine put in her notice to retire by the end of the month. I know I should feel happier for her, but I feel even sorrier for myself! She beat me to retirement! Of course, I have already retired once before and remained happily retired until my car needed replacing seven years later.

With today's economy, I now know I will have to maintain some type of employment for at least another 20 years. I can retire close to the time I get placed in a nursing home. Oh well, staying home and cleaning house all day doesn't sound like my cup of coffee.

The unfortunate truth is that things I really want to do require more money than I have.

To get enough money to do what I want to do, I have to work. And, if I work, there is no time to do what I want to do. There should be a simpler way.

I tell myself I should simplify my life; but I feel having cable isn't that big of an expense when weighed against the entertainment value.

A friend told me once that they were happy just sitting on the front porch and watching the children play. Here's a tip: children don't play outside anymore. At least, I never see them play. I see them throw trash into the yard, throw rocks at each other, throw cats up into the air to see if they will land on their feet and yell obscenities across the fences at each other. The view from my front porch should have a sign stating, "viewer discretion advised."

Has the neighborhood changed that much? Have the children changed? Have I changed?

Something has changed -- and not for the better.

So, for entertainment not porch related, you need money. And to get money (at least for honest people) you have to work. My grandmother used to sell eggs for her grocery money. I think there is a law against that now; I'm not sure. But I don't know if any of the eggs I buy at the only two remaining stores in town are locally grown or not. I'd like to know, so I could buy local eggs to help local chicken people.

I don't know any answers. Retirement at 70 might still leave me with 20 or more years of rocking chair time -- or nursing home time -- and no paycheck.

Still, maybe just not spending might make retirement survivable. Let's see, no work means less gas used, less clothing expense, less blood pressure medication, less aspirin for headaches caused by high blood pressure, less money for food since I could eat those little canned sausages for 50 cents a can. (Forget living on dog food -- it costs too much.)

I suppose, I should be grateful I still can work. I'm not in the obits yet -- so, off to work I go!