A Day in the Life …

Do you wonder where the day goes?  Do you feel guilty if you don’t use every minute of it purposefully?  I used to.  Not any more.

 

In the lighter months I wake early 5.30 – 5.45 – it is annoying; the morning chorus of birds is to blame although I guess it is a beautiful way to wake up – better than an alarm clock!  This is the best time – half awake, half asleep – lying in the dawn-light letting your mind wander – thinking of what you dreamt about or what you are going to wear today, what you will cook for dinner – the possibilities are endless.  But I don’t rush to get up – I take it slow and throw the covers back at  about 7.00.

  There is no need for me to rush, no need to be busy, busy, busy – I can say this because I don’t have a job to get  out to on time, no bus to catch, no children to get ready for school – just 24 hours to pass in any way I wish – and it is surprising what can be achieved in those 24 hours – no matter how slow you go.

  This is one of the joys of being retired – although some may find it hard to fill their days meaningfully – I enjoy the fact that I have time to take a nap after lunch if I want to (which I invariably do).  I find it gives me renewed energy to face whatever the afternoon may bring – more than likely this means putting in two or three  hours work in the garden.

I may take a break outside with a cup of tea and a book for a while – if it is warm – or watch a film if it is cold or raining.  These are my guilty pleasures.  After a lifetime of working long and hard – I don’t begrudge myself anything that I regard as a bonus – a reward – for my diligence.

I allow myself one morning a week to go mooching round the second-hand book shops – a particular pleasure, and invariably come home with three or four books that I doubt I will ever find time to read – and add them to the ever-growing pile by my bedside.

So you see – I have no trouble filling my days – slowly rising; eating breakfast; bathing; getting dressed; a little housework; shopping; reading; drinking lots of cups of tea; gardening; cooking; walking; taking lots of photographs; taking a nap after a leisurely lunch; maybe writing a blog post; catching up with the blogs that I follow – watching a little tv in the evening – and so to bed – to repeat the whole process the next day – ain’t life grand!

‘Til next time, remember

- the key to a life of pleasure, freedom and guilt-free lounging around rests in your hands ~ Tom Hodgkinson

Elaine