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| Tue, 04-28-2009 - 5:47pm |
an intro - I just found this board and it seems like I might fit in here. I'm Sue in San Francisco - happily married to my DH for thirty years. We have had an empty nest for **ack** three years. Our DD, 25, DS, 23, and DD's fiance share a house about ten blocks from where DH and I live. DD is a pre-school teacher and also in her senior year of college majoring in child and adolescent development - she has pretty much worked her way through, with a little help from us. DS does high end home remodels and is studying for his contractor's license...and they are great people...I'd think so even if they weren't mine. The last few months have brought a bunch of changes in my life and I admit to struggling a bit with it all. I have a genetic form of arthritis which attacks cartilege and I had five screws put into my foot to fuse the bones in mid-December. It has been a waaaaaaaaaaaay bigger thing than I was told to expect...I was three months in a wheelchair and am just now back at work in a compression stocking with an orthopedic boot and - sheeesh - a cane (not to mention A LOT of pain and swelling, four + months post-op.) So, being disabled is quite a curve ball for someone who used to work out every morning at the gym. Secondly, I have been a teacher for thirty five years, the last thirty at my current high school. Even though I am not eligible for SS or Medicare for quite awhile yet, I have made the decision to retire at the end of this year. I will need work but I don't want another job...so there's a biggie to get a handle on. So far, I've just been keeping a list of possible things I am qualified to do and see where that goes. At least I will continue to collect a paycheck until mid-August. DH is significantly older than I and he has been retired for quite awhile, although he keeps fit and busy. So, closing the door on thirty years of my life is a bit scary...I'm just trying to see what unfolds. I look forward to getting to know you all.
Sue

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Hi, and thanks so much for the welcome. Sounds like you have quite a crew, what with kids and grands...must be fun! My DH will be 75 in June, but no one would ever think so. We shop at a food co-op that has a 20% senior citizen discount (have to be 62 to get it) and he gets carded when he asks for it - LOL! OTOH, I am 59 and they never ask me for ID...hmmmmm! However, I will say that my once red hair is now completely silver, so I'm not really surprised. That's too bad that your DH is being forced to retire...I remember back in 1994 when DH's whole department was eliminated eight months before he was scheduled to take early retirement...not good times! My parents are both deceased, as is my only sibling, but DH's mom is the "energizer bunny" at almost 103 and he visits her often. I'm glad I found this board.
Sue
Hi, and thanks for the welcome. I totally agree with "so many books, so little time." Our house is simply bursting with full bookcases, inc. all my books from my childhood...with my whole family of origin gone, it fell to me to clean out my family's basement and cart all the stuff worth keeping to my house...thank God I have a big basement. You're lucky to have your grandkids close so that you can babysit. One of the reasons I hope my foot issues clear up is that I have big plans to be a fun, involved gramma when the time comes. DH and I are considering doing daycare in the fall...there's a huge need for it here because just about every family has two working parents and there's just not enough available childcare. It's an idea, anyway. Glad I found this board.
Sue
Your dog and mine are about the same size and age, and sounds like similar personalities. DH and I laugh over the fact that one of us will hear the other say something that we didn't quite catch and when we say, "What?" the other person often says, "Oh, I was talking to TJ."
Hi - I'm happy to "meet" you. As you well know, this foot stuff is literally a real pain...I have had eight major surgeries before this one (you know, BIG ones)and this is the first one that has just knocked me for a loop. I was no way prepared for the pain, the swelling, the disabling - sheeeesh...what amuses me is that two of my friends need foot surgery and both of them have decided against it after they have seen what I've gone through. I did a lot of geneology work about three years ago and pretty much traced all sides of my family back as far as I could...my dad, when he was alive, had done some, so I did have a place to start with his family...my maternal grandfather's lineage is the puzzler - could only find his parents and then the trail just went cold. I found it fascinating. DH is the gardener in our house - he grew up on a farm in Ireland and life just wouldn't be the same if he didn't have his garden to putter in. Our DS began growing hydroponically as a hobby and boy, the stuff he grows...DH still doesn't put much faith in "no dirt" - LOL! Thanks for the welcome!
Sue
Hi I'm Cindy from Upstate NY. Welcome to the board. We love new people and retiring after all those years is probably scary but it happens to the best of us. And I mean the best. The girls on this board are just wonderful.
I've only had a computer for a couple months and haven't typed since high school so please excuse any goofs I make. I have 4 children and 9 grandchildren. Was working at Walmart but left due to high gas milage a year ago. Was quite a ways to drive. Now I spend my time remodeling my house and this summer I'll have my first vegetable garden. Gained a little unwanted weight sitting around the house so be careful of that.
I hope you visit us more often I'd love to hear more about Calfornia. I've learned alot about other states on this board.
My Dh is 4 years older than me and still works but retirement will come soon enough.
Hi, and thanks for the welcome. Wow - nine grandchildren...that's really great! As for my neck of the woods in California, San Francisco and what is called the nine Bay Area counties, it is really a beautiful part of the country and I'm glad to be from here. I know that San Francisco has a "reputation" of being somehow weird or different or nutsy, and there's some truth to it, but honestly, the people I know and love/like/work with/encounter, for the most part, are just people. They go to school, they go to work, they eat and sleep, get married, have children,
Hi Sue
LOL Dh and
We are going to Vancouver this weekend with our youngest dd, it is so nice to visit there, not so sure I woudl want to live there though.
The girls live about 3 1/2 hours and 5 hours from me, not too close, but one day we will be living closer, or that is our plan.
Oh yea that nail biting stage..
Hello again, Anybody ever tell you your a great writer. Maybe you should think about a little freelance writing when you retire. The way you pulled me into your city is amazing. You have a natural talent dear lady.
I live a few miles from Watkins Glen NY. I tell most people there as they know the place due to the Nascar at the Glen. Big race. On a map look for Seneca Lake. Watkins Glen is on the south end of it.
Yes 9 wonderful grandchildren. 3 boys and 6 girls ranging from 3-14 years old. The picture on the name is my youngest son with his 2 girls in the front and his fiancee and
Thank you for the compliment. I actually love to write and I have had a couple of poems published. I have every hope that when I "retire"
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