Day One

Today is the first day of the rest of my life. I guess I could say that each and every day upon waking, but today is something special - it is the NEXT chapter. Besides having a cold that has exacerbated into a nasty cough, I did thoroughly enjoy myself all day long. There were moments when I thought: I could wake up and this is just a darn good dream; I don't really have to go back to work tomorrow, not next week or even after Thanksgiving; I can start big, big projects and not have to park them for a few days or weeks. I kept getting back a smile on my face, and was pretty sure it was for real.

I did ponder some things I want to avoid in my new retired life:

1. bigger love handles, saddle bags, and double chin.
2. a mullet (from cutting my own hair).
3. becoming a hoarder with trails throughout the house.
4. being an avid caller on talk radio - after a brief exchange of triviality they conclude by saying "appreciate the call Mare" and hang up.
5. pregnancy.
6. becoming a sunworshipper (my mother would die all over again!)
7. when speakin,' droppin the g's on action verbs: lookin', goin', talkin'. It might fly with Sarah Palin, but not for me!
8. acquiring more than one house cat.
9. putting bumper stickers on my car.

and finally...

10. thinking I should return to the workforce!!