For example, Carol recently wrote about water lilies she’s growing in a pond in her backyard. As I read her words, I was immediately transported to an earlier time . . .
. . . I’m about 10 years old. I’m in a small rowboat, paddling on the lake where I spent my childhood summers.
It’s early morning.
The water is a mirror with barely a ripple . . . just the few I make with the oars.
Quiet prevails. It’s a dreamy, Zen-like quiet. The only sounds are the rhythmic squeak of the oarlocks and the occasional chirp of a bird in the distance.
I pass little clumps of water lilies. Their sweet fragrance drifts towards me as it mingles with the fresh summer air . . .
If you know me, you might know that I have a tendency to over-think things.
In fact, Sir Beads often says that I think too much! 😉
I hate to admit it, but he may be right about that . . .
I worry about things that “could” happen, whereas he was born with the blessing of not worrying until something “has” happened.
But, that makes us a good match; gives us balance – yin and yang.
And when you THINK about it (There I go again!), somewhere between no worry and too much worry is probably best!
Don’t ya think? 😉
Oh man! She’s in one of those philosophical moods again.
Get to the point, Crystal!
Oh yes, the point. Well, during these last few weeks of retirement prep here, I keep having the same thought . . . It seems to me that retirement is really a phase – right up there with becoming a teenager! So many similarities.
I mean it’s a whole new world for a person.
You’ve been looking forward to it, but you don’t really know how it will go.
You’ll have more freedom (That’s exciting.)
But there will be new rules as well.
You will have new experiences, but some of them will be unfamiliar; you’ll have no frame of reference, which can be unnerving. The unknown often is!
Then again, life is full of phases and it’s comforting to realize that they usually go just the way they are supposed to, albeit with a few bumps along the path. I’m not spending too much time worrying about it.
If I did – there’d be no time to make a sparkly little tennis-style bracelet!
Or several of them!
Or a pair of earrings to match my favorite of the bunch.
This color combo is GORGEOUS in person! Wish I could hand the earring to you right through the screen. Violet and soft aqua – delish! 🙂
I love that song! (Of course, I loved the poem by Robert Browning, first.)
John Lennon wrote a song version, and then Mary Chapin Carpenter followed with a beautifully lilting “cover” of John’s recording.
“Ok Crystal, fair enough.
But, what are ya getting at”?
Bless you, Kids. I know I don’t make it easy. 😉
There’s been a lot going on behind the scenes, here.
We’ve been caught up in meetings, buried in literature, and immersed in the filing of countless forms.
In just a few weeks, Sir Beads is going to retire.
He would tell you that although he has been blessed to work for a wonderful company . . . after 4+ decades – he’s more than ready to leave the everyday stress behind.
We are happy!!!
We are nervous.
We are excited!!!!
And with the current economy – maybe a little scared!
The whole procedure has very much reminded me of the arduous process of college applications – which we went through several years ago with our girls.
Suddenly we have so many new decisions, lots of choices to make, so much red tape! Who knew?
We ARE making progress, though. Yes, indeed!
For example, I can now go on for hours about the pros and cons of annuities, the details concerning rollovers, and the differences between Medicare A, B, C, D, Medigap, and Supplement plans . . . whereas a few weeks ago it was pretty much a foreign language. (Fear not, Kids! I have no intention of getting into any of that here.) 😉
The one thing I have no worries about is having more time with Sir Beads. I am actually thrilled about that. Oh, I know there’s been a study that wives in Japan literally become ill when their husbands retire. And I’ve heard stories of women who struggle to maintain their usual schedules with the sudden appearance of husbands who continually want attention, and conversation, and (gasp!) 3-meals-a-day!
Sir Beads and I were married for a few years before our kids arrived so we know the drill. During those pre-kids years, we had a chance to become good “friends”. From the beginning, we learned to compromise and accommodate, how to have fun together and still give each other a little space. We’re feeling confident those lessons will serve us well now.
There won’t be a dull moment. Of that we’re pretty certain!
Grow old along with me;
The best is yet to be . . . 😀
The older I become, the more the words in today’s title ring true.
It’s a very tough time for one of our regular blog commentors, Carol. She’s part of the family here and I thought you might want to hold some positive thoughts or prayers for her.
Just a couple of weeks ago, her family had to say goodbye to a beloved dog, “Buddy”. He was close to all of them but especially to Carol’s daughter and to her grandson.
Then tragically yesterday, and so soon after Buddy, they lost another dear pet.
Carol’s favorite, her sweet dog “Jack”, became ill and slipped away.
She is heartbroken, as any one of us would be. It’s hard to imagine how difficult it will be for her family to accept both of these losses – especially with so little time in between them.
We are thinking of you, Carol, and sending many hugs.
Seeing Elton was an emotional experience, the depth of which caught me completely by surprise.
Sure, I’ve been a fan and admire his charitable work, but on the drive to the concert, my only thoughts were that it would be a night of fun. I wasn’t expecting anything more.
The following day, I tried to explain to my daughter how deeply moved I was by the show, the music, and especially by Elton, himself. After listening to my attempt to put my feelings into words, her reply summed it up very well: “Mom, you were touched by his sincerity”.
It was true. This man is a mega star. After such an incredibly successful career, he could be jaded, bored, selfish, with an attitude of ‘just do the minimum, get off the stage, and count the money’. I’m here to tell you… that is NOT Sir Elton.
He was on the stage for THREE hours STRAIGHT. No breaks! Performing every number. After a couple of hours he gave the band a break but HE stayed and played alone while they were gone! He continually jumped off his bench after each song and ran to every corner of the stage and bowed and waved with animated appreciation for the fans. He played countless hits and each one with every bit of his power. No holding back, no “phoning it in”. It was amazing. He will be 64 this month, but his performance surely belied that fact. I realized we were witnessing something very special. He is at a place in his life where he is still in his prime musically, but has arrived at a point of peace with himself.
His conversations with the audience were so sweet. He had a little gesture – an unconscious way of softly brushing his hand against the top of the piano as he was speaking – giving the sense that the words were coming directly from his heart. He said that the last year has been his best musically. He introduced Leon Russell explaining that this was the man that he (Elton) had “wanted to sing like.. to play piano like…” It was very touching to see the pride and joy on Elton’s face as his old hero came on stage.
Towards the latter part of the show, I lost it when he sang, “Candle in the Wind”. Why? I’ve asked myself the same question. It isn’t even a favorite of mine, though I do like it. He sang it as if it were the first time – with his whole effort. It was incredibly beautiful. I suddenly thought how extraordinary it was to be in the same room with him as he sang this song, a song that the whole world could recognize and associate with a memory in their own lives. Tears were steaming down my face. To be honest, they are now as I write about it.
This is turning into a novel. I should add that when we first arrived, we decided to have a pre-show drink at the Elton John Premium Lounge. 😉
We figured it would be a good photo op for the memory book.
I liked the table decorations – a champagne glass with a tea light nestled amongst colored glass stones.
We only had the cell phone for pix. The tickets specified “no recording or cameras with extra lenses”. Imagine our surprise when they seemed to have been smuggled in all around us!
Our seats in the arena were good! We were above the stage, with a wonderful ¾ angle to see Elton and also his hands on the piano keys. In addition, the big screen was nearby, so we had great close-ups whenever we could pry our eyes from the stage.
I’ll end with a youtube clip from the show. In it, Elton has come back to the stage for an encore. You may want to skip the first few minutes in which he is signing autographs. If you move the red slider to about 3 minutes into the video, you will see him go to the piano for his encore song.
These are his words just as he’s about to play –
“Thank you, Worcester; thank you so much. It’s been an amazing year. It’s been an amazing life, and the thing I love about playing more live now than I ever did is that I really, really appreciate you guys so much more than I could ever explain… Thank you for buying tickets to this show, thank you for being so loyal, and so great. I’m a lucky man…. And I’m going to dedicate this song to all of you. I send you my love and hope that everything in your life is as good as mine right now….”
. . . I’m about 10 years old. I’m in a small rowboat, paddling on the lake where I spent my childhood summers.
