There was no mail today, of the “put a stamp on it” kind.  It means that the week has come to an end.  Tomorrow will involve trash, vacuuming, laundry and dusting (Monday to those still employed).  All these responsibilities might seem somewhat unwelcome, however, I’m retired, so these tasks have taken on new meaning.  First, they help me recognize what day it is, and secondly, they will be done without supervision.  I also don’t necessarily need to do them tomorrow either, because I’m retired!

I was able to confer with some of my fellow retirees at a wedding reception last night. Although, none of us are very experienced at retirement, we all seem to enjoy the freedom. Each of us has settled into new routines, slowly separating ourselves from the every-day work discipline that we called a meaningful career.  We now have to find new ways to spend our time, in order to bring satisfaction into our lives.

Wedding receptions are all about family.  As you get older, unfortunately there seem to be fewer weddings and more funerals.  As a result, these joyous events, that can be tiresome earlier in life, become much more important.  Also, if you’re not paying for the wedding or the reception, it’s even more special! There’s an open bar, plenty of food, and lots of repetitive conversation.   You may know the family of either the bride or groom, but the challenge is trying to figure out all the different connections.  This gets more and more complicated the older you get.  You walk in the door hoping to target those you do know, and then gradually engage in conversations with those you don’t.  Occasionally, you then retreat back to more friendly faces to share what you’ve learned.  In your mind, you’re creating a family tree.

Weddings bring back many memories that you tend to share with others.  Typically, there are guests that you haven’t seen in a while, so it’s an opportunity to re-connect.  Also, some conversations won’t make sense until you figure out that they think you’re someone else! This confusion may be fueled by the loud music and over-consumption of alcohol, when you find yourself in conversations where you don’t hear a word of what the other is saying.  You just nod your head and smile, hoping that they’re not describing a life-threatening disease that requires your sincerest attention.

There is a certain pattern that most people tend to follow at a networking event like this. At some point, you establish a home-base that becomes your place of retreat, a safe-zone usually surrounded by your closest friends, where you can gather your wits.  It’s in this time of circling back to friends that you may discover that you called someone by the wrong name, butchered their name, or couldn’t figure out who they were?  After a few minutes of comparing and verifying information, you then steel yourself to return to the masses.

When it gets later in the evening, people from the dance floor start to dangerously wail their arms around you, so this is a good time to once again retreat to your safety zone.  If you’ll look around you’ll notice that other “family” circles have formed, so you can see more clearly who’s with whom?  Eventually, you’ll end up on the dance floor yourself, or you’ll sneak out to avoid humiliation.  After all, doing the “Humpty Hump” is not Senior friendly!

If you really want to have fun at the reception, I recommend hanging out at the bar.  All the “fun” people will then come to you.  You can also get a feel for who will need a ride home later. Hopefully, you’re not a stalker!