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Lamar Thames

A friend of mine once said that growing old is not for sissies. She was absolutely right, as I am rapidly finding out; too rapidly it seems.

There is another part of aging that I am not all that fond of either — retirement. It is not exactly what I had in mind when I signed up for it. (Of course, some would say that I really didn’t have a choice in the matter, but that is another story.)

I envisioned retirement to be a leisurely endeavor with lots of golf, travel and enjoyment. I am not going to tell you that there is not a lot of enjoyment because there is, but golf and travel? Uh huh. Just not happening, man.

Oh, I have played an occasional round but it is not the twice-per-week frequency that I had imagined. Finances, of course, play a part of it, but there is a bigger issue — there is just so much darn work to do. You know what I mean?

The first thing I did when I “retired” (aka, when I was no longer given the option of drawing a paycheck) was fire my yard maintenance company. At a cost of more than $100 a month, it was an expense that both my wife and I knew we didn’t need. Especially when I was able to do the work myself. Back in November, it seemed like a slam dunk. I mean, what was there to do? Mow the lawn once a month, and rake a few leaves here and there? But now that spring has sprung and things are actually GROWING, it is a far different deal. Hey, there is something to do in the yard EVERY day. I trimmed the hedges just last week and they already need it again. I am getting tired of it. Read the rest of this entry »