Time, Time, Time is on my side........la la la.

If you are harried, still working and pulling out your hair because company is coming this weekend and you had to work late on Friday - DO NOT READ THIS!

So, with the warnings out of the way, can I just say that being retired does not mean that you are not busy each day or even that there are not times when something gets in the way of your plans BUT, the big difference is that there is ALWAYS time to recover from the hiccups or the busyness of the morning or noon or night.

Being in charge of my schedule is probably the biggest gift retirement has given me.  Using the time wisely is the biggest challenge.  Nothing comes free - even retirement has its price!

I had three meetings this week which meant going downtown, parking and planning/working for up to eight other people for three or four hours at a stretch.  In my past life, that would have meant driving through traffic, circling for a parking spot and paying upwards to $30 when I found one and then, chairing a meeting no one really wants to be at.  Contrast that with a five minute drive down the mountain, parking for FREE and walking maybe 20 feet to the door - YEAH!  And that is not all!  The meeting participants were often quite colorful and artistic, willing to dig in and make a mess, and happily clean up afterwards.  And that was two out of the three meetings.

The third did involve discussions and some minutes and even a few votes but, we were rubbing shoulders with artists from wood carving to potters, painters to sculptors and they all wanted to be in that room that day.  We were spending money but our budget was $500.00 - not $50000.00 - and no one was fretting over the particulars.

So, I rushed around today, did some shopping in another country, raced home for lunch, rushed down to the post office for some important "posting" business and then drove all the way across town to check out some real estate before having coffee with the tenants.  Dinner was a gourmet treat, bouef de Hamburg, served with various colorful sauces (ketchup, Dijon mustard and pesto mayo), rosemary oven-fried potatoes, fresh veges of my choice and topped off with avocado chocolate mousse.

I have now retired to my studio to write and paint for the evening.  My honey-sweetened tea sits near my right hand ad as I gaze at the clouds just clearing the top of the mountain, I say:

"Time, time, time - is on my side.....yes it is"

Rolling Stones Live at Leeds 1982