Staying at a resort-like, age restricted, active adult community in suburban Phoenix for ten weeks with my friend, Kathy, has been a bit like camp. A very nice camp. (http://www.grandinfo.com/) But what would camp be without a letter to mom and dad. So channeling my ten your old self, my letter home… Dear Mom and Dad, Thanks for sending me to camp this year with the older kids. It’s been a blast! Our cabin is real nice and I like it a lot, but the other cabins behind us are a little too Continue Reading
The scary similarities between high school and retirement
Can high school foretell your retirement? I can’t imagine it does, but recently, a friend told me I was the poster child for retirement. As I quickly dispelled that notion, I thought about my life today and found myself thinking back to my high school days, and surprisingly, found many similarities. Bell bottoms and the hair flip, fortunately, are not two of them. I'll always love my parents and at the same time, be frustrated with them for letting me join and then after a year, quit so many Continue Reading
My Brush with Death in the Kitchen
In our second day at Retirement Camp (that’s what I’ve decided to call these ten weeks in this “active adult” community in Arizona), I guess I agreed to play pickle-ball. It happened like this. My friend and I were driving around the area, each of us getting more and more excited over all the offerings that we’d be able to take advantage of. Kathy: “So would you like to play pickle-ball sometime? Oh look, there’s a Culver’s.” Pam: “Great!” You see what happened here, right? She thought Continue Reading
My Ongoing Fight with Exercise Classes
Flat on my back, legs up in the air, splayed as much as these two bratwurst shaped limbs of mine can be, feet reaching toward the fluorescent lights. I would have been less embarrassed had I fallen, but nope, this was intentional. I hate exercise. I know that’s a strong word, but really, I hate it. I’m not talking about walking or biking, dancing or swimming. Those I like. It’s when I find myself reaching, stretching, lunging, balancing, all in sync to some obscure playlist of workout songs, Continue Reading