Space, Lovely Space

Living in the country one may get used to wide open spaces and take freedom for granted.  But it is surprising how space can be confining when what was plenty for one becomes crowded when even the quietest “two” intrudes on their space.

I can understand why marriages becomes strained when one or other of the spouses retires and is suddenly home 24/7.  The person who had already been staying home is now being monitored, judged, questioned, or simply harassed by the new person who finds themselves at a loose end.  I reiterate what I have said before in this blog, it is essential that both husbands and wives have plenty of hobbies, interests and events to occupy themselves in retirement.  If you have someone at your shoulder for every minute of the day it can get very wearing in no time at all.  If you are not used to holding someone’s hand, in giving undivided attention to someone for every waking minute you are going to have a falling-out in record time.

So ladies and gentlemen, get your notebooks out and start writing down a list of things that you have dreamed of doing, things you enjoyed doing when you were a child, a teenager, and a young person.  Dancing, music, reading, playing sports, researching history, butterflies, bird watching, drawing cartoons, designing clothes, paper dolls, creating new automobile designs, taking apart bicycles, engines, motors, building model airplanes, doll houses, bird houses, quilting, embroidery, knitting, crocheting, scrapbooking, genealogy, volunteering at a soup kitchen, a school, etc. 

You need to take a seriously look at what you enjoy doing, you need to take care of your health in order to be able to keep up with your interests and activities, and for gosh sakes, you need to cut your partner some slack so you don’t end up quarreling with each other.

And always remember, you need to ensure that you have the financial ability to retire and keep up with your interests so it’s important to look at the things within your price range.  Many things are essentially free to do, or can be done on a limited budget.