Cool Your Jets!

I think it’s safe to say my first year of retirement has been a success since I haven’t considered going back to work – even for a minute – nor have I gotten divorced. Only joking on the second part, but admittedly it was an adjustment as our house is small and our personalities are not. I anticipated as much, which is where the “She Shed” dream was hatched. (One woman described her She Shed as a “Mini me version of my home.”)

I learned that building a house – even a tiny one – comes with frustration. Alas, after almost a year the She Shed is finally a reality. Of course, when I was schlepping a dustmop out there recently, I thought, now didn’t I just add another room to clean? Then as we enjoyed a lunch on the patio with a construction-type friend, he gazed out at my “perfect” little shed and said in between bites, “Are you gonna put hurricane shutters on that thing?”

The year has gone by surprisingly quickly and like many people I wonder how I ever had time to work. The part of being retired that I have yet to perfect is the slowing down part. I am doing my best to embrace the motto of hubby’s longtime friend (who just happens to be retired Air Force). When he came to visit and we were rushing him about, he said: Cool your jets! Great advice yet easier said than done as fifty years of dashing here and there makes for one deep-rooted habit. This is where the She Shed really shines as the space in which I continue my attempt at meditation, as well as play piano, both of which seem like good ways to cool one’s jets.