I had a surprising experience today while I was shopping at Target and it flooded me with memories of my college friends. I think of C and N and how they already treasure their college friends. In fact, N is in Dublin right now with Philip who has written a play that is being staged this week in a Dublin theater. I'm sorry I missed her call today but she left a message that she is having a good time. But back to my story:
There were just two "upper middle aged" women pushing the infamous red carts in an aisle at Target and as we passed each other we both seemed to take long looks. We both stared, and then she said "Carol Crandall?" (that always gets my attention!) And I (wrongly) replied, "Joan Petzka?" No, it was Sue Chase! We hugged and then blocked the aisle for over half and hour, pouring out more than 35 years of catching up. It was so much fun! We live less than a mile from each other and made plans to walk together soon. Funny thing is, both of us have been walking around the same golf course in the neighborhood for years. I suppose it's a bad sign when you start taking so much random joy in life from looking back, but it sure seems to give me a lot of pleasure most days.
I hope all my college friends are well- or as well as can be in these uncertain times. J and I question the timing, but now that we have decided to stay put and grow old in our rambler we are in the throes of kitchen remodeling (well, the planning part). Some days I get cold feet at the thought of all the expense but I have waited through 2 private high school educations, 2 private college educations and one wedding and I've waited long enough for the kitchen of my dreams. I think I deserve it, being one of those women who actually cooks and bakes on a regular basis. Of course once the new kitchen is in, the rest of the house could look pretty dated so I suppose this is just the beginning!
Retirement from the library world suits me fine but I am enjoying my little adventure in the retail world. I probably spend more than I make but it is fun to get dressed up a couple of times a week deal with people and their problems - just like I did for 40 years as a librarian. Customer service is an interesting world. And I had no idea retail was so complex!
Now we are gearing up for our cruise to Alaska in June - seems like that's the first trip most retired folks around here take. We are going with two of J's retired principal friends and their wives. We are all pretty good friends so it should be fun. And in July we will go to Maine for a wedding and also visit friends in New Hampshire. That will about exhaust the travel budget for 2009!
That's about it from my little corner of Lake Wobegon country, all prompted by a chance meeting between two Teresans at Target. As the famous weather guy says, "what's happening in your neck of the woods?"
An update on my parents: Mom and Dad had their best winter in several. We still can't get them out of the house but we did mange to convince them that they need to accept help from an aid, 2 days a week. They've grown to look forward to "Connie's" visits; she cleans, cooks, makes beds, does laundry and sits down with them and a cup of tea after she finishes her work. J and I or C and I go down one day a week to help out and usually take mom out for lunch, to appointments etc. People ask if I am doing any volunteering in retirement and I think this is the best volunteer job I can have!
No comments:
Post a Comment