Loose Leaf Notes

Semi-retired, that is. And I have the RV (“The Star Trek Enterprise”) to prove it.
In truth, I’m not old enough or wealthy enough to retire, but after raising two sons, who are out on their own now, and then doing full-time foster care for adults with disabilities for the past 8 years, my husband and I are finally “Home Alone,” officially, as of today.
Mothering was the highlight of my life, and I’ve been grateful for purposeful work that has provided me with a good income, but there is no empty nest syndrome going on here, and I feel like a kid busting out from the confinement of public school.
I do plan to keep my foster care license and do respite care for other providers, and my husband still has a full-time job (thank you very much). He keeps telling everyone, “She’s going to write full-time now.”
“No! Don’t say that,” I plead with him. “I can’t stand the pressure!”
Reaching this point has got me thinking about all the jobs I’ve had in the past. Even with my dislike of “9 to 5 jobs” that interrupt real life, I’ve had a pretty colorful work history. Including, in order of appearance and not counting the occasional payment for writing; I’ve been a downtown Boston boutique clerk, a nightshift nurse’s aide, a factory worker painting fire alarms, a day care teacher, a jeweler, a Grateful Dead vendor, a night watchman, and foster care provider.
But now I’m retired! And my new goal in life is to camp along beaches and drop shells into a jar at the end of the day, the way others drop in loose change.
“When nothing happens for a long time, people begin to assume that nothing ever happens. But, sooner or later, something always happens.” ~Steven Lagavulin