Life Lessons
It’s a Lifestyle – Not a Vacation
Ever wonder how it was for us in the beginning of living life without a paycheck? In 1991, we understood that we were retiring with the idea that we would not be returning to work. If we had to, we would, but it was not part of the plan. We were not taking a break from work, we were leaving the working world all together. It was a little unnerving ...Read More
How Old Do You Have To Be?
How old do you have to be to get only one candle on your birthday cake? How old do you have to be before it’s OK to back out of your driveway without looking? How old do you have to be before the only way to find something lost in your house is to buy a replacement? Let’s face it. Life is funny. We have to laugh about things like body parts ...Read More
Where Angels Gather
Nowhere is God’s grace more evident than when a Hospice Angel walks through the door. When Tom’s daughters had a heart-to-heart talk with him last April, he was the picture of a man at the end of his rope. Five months of caring for his wife, Jenny, had kept him awake most nights. Occasionally he catnapped in the afternoons, but it was n...Read More
Feeling Disappointed
I used to feel if I was stranded on an island for two weeks and did not have access to a telephone, television or computer that I would go stir crazy and have an anxiety attack. Thinking about it clearly, I am realizing that maybe all these devices are actually causing me stress. Let me explain: While I am not a huge television watcher I do enjo...Read More
Gym Gossip? Not for Me!
Dear “Oh Carol:” My husband retired recently and now goes to the gym several times a week. He’s also making some new friends there and frankly, I’m very pleased about it all. Except for one thing. One of his new friends is widowed and he had a girl-friend who he treated poorly. She left him and now he’s playing the field. My husband come...Read More
Amazing Possibilities – YES – Even In Retirement!
So here it is; retirement is looming. Some enter this phase of life with trepidation, while others transition in a seamless way and never look back. The options today in retirement are endless. We all have choices. Some plan ahead and things work out just fine, but for some, this new period, despite the planning leads to unhappiness, boredom and lo...Read More
We’re 26 Years “Retired,” No $$ Woes – Here’s How!
When 2016 came to a close, I thought I would look back financially to where we started this adventure, from January of 1991. The chart below shows the ascent of the S&P 500 Index over our 26 years of retirement. On our retirement date of January 14, 1991, the S&P 500 index closed at 312.49. It has recently closed at 2262, making roughly an ...Read More
It’s Never Easy, Is It?
Dear “Oh Carol:” My son’s mother-in-law, Mary, has cancer and has only 6 months left. She’s a sweet-heart and this is so sad. I think she’s mid-60’s. Her husband has been a real trooper helping her with every need and no complaining. But recently some have noticed he’s acting a bit too friendly with some of Mary’s friends. Especially the single o...Read More
Aargh. Oyyy. Eeeeek.
It wasn’t coming from me. My grandson Johnny was playing make-believe Nana. We all know the aargs, oyyys, and eeeeeks when we get up from the floor, out of a soft couch, or hoist kids onto countertops. They’re the huffs and puffs of after fifty living. Let’s face it – grandchildren, grandnieces and nephews, and other related kids can be our greates...Read More