Five straight days of being a homebody. There was no evening dining out, with the only outside events of my choosing. A college baseball game, a dental appointment, a leadership meeting, and some errands were the only things that interrupted my lazy, binge-watching this week. I sat through a couple of  Lost in Space episodes with my wife in the evenings and several seasons of Justified during the daytime hours. From “Danger Will Robinson” to the “Dixie Mafia” of the Kentucky backwoods, there couldn’t be much more range in this week’s viewing habits. Even though the weather was perfect, I ventured outdoors only to run, walk the dogs, get the mail, read on the back deck, and ride around in the convertible. I’m glad I don’t have to deal with the hassles of outer space aliens and poison moonshine.

We did venture out for carry-out burgers & onion rings from Skyline last night. I made chicken with barbecue sauce for dinner one night, had hot dogs and the nachos at the ballpark, and enjoyed lunch at Buffalo Wild Wings today with some friends. The Cubs beat the Brewers while we were eating, and preparations were being made for Round 2 of the NFL draft, while we sipped on cold beers and solved most of the world problems. This is what leadership is all about! On the more constructive side, I did do some laundry, vacuuming, dusting, weeding, dish-washing, picked up the dry cleaning, and fixed the water heater, so don’t even begin to think that retirement is spent strictly on the couch. I also was able to wrangle a $150 in Amazon Gift Cards from Delta Airlines customer service after repeated efforts to resolve our travel complaints from a month ago. I was not as successful as I hoped to be, and I hope there will be additional compensation as they continue to review our case. This is something that I would not have time or motivation to do if I was still working. I’ve yet to get into coupon-clipping and contesting, but I suppose those will be the next steps in retirement.

I will be able to enjoy one more week of relaxation before we head to Hawaii, and deal once again with airline schedules, rental cars, and hotel accommodations.  Sometimes these arrangements suck the energy out of me, so couch potato time can be a welcome relief. I’m kidding, of course! I still ADORE (See Post #396) travel and the sense of adventure associated with it. Just as the dogs like to GO – so do I. (See Post #506). Good things do not necessary come to those who wait! You have to GO out and search for them. I wish we had the resources to do more travel, and fortunately we’re restricted by my working wife’s vacation schedule, otherwise I probably would have already spent our nest egg. Being at home gives me time to reflect on where we’ve been and where we’re going next. Days on the road go by so fast that life becomes a bigger blur than it already is, while staying at home slows down that hectic pace. Also, the dogs miss us when we’re gone, as they are currently waiting by the garage door for the sound of my wife’s car. We don’t get that kind of a greeting in hotel rooms or on cruise ships. There’s no place like home, at least until the next retirement adventure!