I spent some time this past week cleaning out and finishing up some of the poetry starts on my Evernote app. Whenever I get an idea, I store it on my phone and work on it from time to time. There are still hundreds of these snippets on file, and while I wait at the doctors office or have some down time I use them for inspiration. I added three new poems to the blog this week, but have written little about my other activities. I decided this morning to catch you up on my retirement life. Whoever you are?

My wife and I are headed to Hawaii next week, only to return for a day before another trip to New York City. As I result, we’ve packed a lot of errands and activities into this week’s social calendar. Naturally, I had time to watch all the updates available for my favorite television series, including Game of Thrones, The Curse of Oak Island, Billions, Schitt’s Creek, and Fosse and Verdon. It will be several weeks before I get back to them again, since I’ll have more constructive things to do. I also went to the chiropractor, got a new prescription for my glasses, cooked dinner, called my sister, talked with my son, enjoyed C’est Si Bon on date night with my wife, finished our wills, took a financial seminar, did my daily runs, and went skiing. This weekend my wife’s youngest daughter is visiting her sister here in Portland, and they will all go wedding dress shopping. Both daughters are getting married this year. Right now, I’m waiting for my wife to get out of bed so we can take the dogs on their highly anticipated Schnauzerthon. They are restless!

Along with some lighter bedtime reading, I am slowly making my way through, The Girls Who Went Away, the disturbing stories of young expectant women who were forced to give their babies away for adoption. It’s a very emotional book, especially for an adopted child like myself. I will write more about it under the “Diary of An Adoptee” category on this blog. A blood relative suggested that I read it, and I’ve found it to be very eye-opening. I may never know the true story of what my birth mother went through, but I’m sure it’s even worse than what I’ve imagined. There are some heart warming moments when mother and child are finally reunited later in life. Honestly, this is probably not going to happen for me.

On the lighter side, I continue to refer to the 1,000 Places to See Before You Die calendar on my desk. Easter Island; Jerusalem; Jiagsu, China; Northern Ireland; Lhasa’s Potala Palace; Mount Yoshino, Japan; and Seville, Spain are all yet to be personally explored. Only Tuscany and Greece were already crossed off my list. The bottom line is that I’ve really only seen about 20% of the world and will realistically only only visit about 35% in my lifetime. The calendar continues to reference places that I’ve never even thought of visiting.

Sports have been a big part of the week, as the Trailblazers move on to the second round of the Playoffs. Their buzzer-beating victory over the Thunder was one of the most exciting I’ve watched. Also, the Cubs have been playing better baseball, winning three game series against both the Diamondbacks and Dodgers. The White Sox continue to flounder near the bottom of their division. Indiana University baseball moved to the top of the BIG conference and into the National Top 25 polls, but then lost their opener against Minnesota. #2 ranked Oregon State was surprised by Nevada. It was also the week of the NFL draft, with little interest for me. In addition, the Portland Timbers were off to a rocky start before defeating both Columbus and Toronto on the road.

Last but not least, I did finally get to the ski slopes this season. It was a beautiful day on the mountain but the snow was a bit sticky. There were also some icy spots in the shaded ares, and my day started on my butt. The fall didn’t hurt, but I badly scratched my exposed back sliding backwards down the hill. With the spring-like weather, I did not have on the traditional layers of clothing that would have normally protected my skin. The tumble, followed soon after by another slip, also destroyed my confidence, as I struggled to regain any form. It was difficult to turn in the slushy areas and this took a toll on my legs as the day went on. I have to admit that at my age I did consider hanging up my skis, but there were also some moments that will probably get me back on them again next year. My goal is to ski into my seventies, but balance is getting to be more and more of an issue.

I’m ready to leave my comfortable life as a homebody and hit the road. We’re in an area of Maui that we’re very familiar with, so it should be relaxing before the Oregon Auto Dealers Convention begins. I’ll have to attend some dinners, receptions, and seminars reminiscent of my working days, She also has television business in New York the following week, so we’ll go to some Broadway Shows and I have tickets to a Yankees game with a friend’s son. Retirement life is busy…and good, despite a few scrapes.