Author: granny18

I am a semi-retired administrative assistant turned writer. Sometimes I write for love, sometimes I write for money. When I get really lucky I write for love and money! My family is my joy, including 18 grandchildren and one great-grandson!
Health, Retirement

Worry

granny18

I can still visualize myself on the phone with my Dad. I was beside the telephone, cord held in my hand, one knee on the bench beside the phone. You see, once upon a time young’ uns, we needed a bench because a long conversation meant staying in one place for a while. Heck, could you non-wrinkly folk even run one of those phones?

I can’t remember what I was worried about. (which probably means my Dad’s advice made sense.) He said,

“Why worry? It’s doesn’t solve anything.”

Here I am, not far from the age he would have been at the time, and I realized today that I finally understand and am living his advice.

I recently had an excisional biopsy. The 3-year-olds in my life were all suddenly asking about a mole I’ve always had. When the second one commented I thought,

“Maybe I should have a look at this thing.”

It had changed colour and size but being in an area semi-protected by the sun, I wasn’t too concerned but had the doctor take a look. Doctor wanted a biopsy done to make sure.

There was a time when low risk or not, I would have been awake at night in a state of, if not panic, at least…worry.

I’m not worried at all. This is today, I’m another week or two from hearing the results, and until the results come back, the biopsy doesn’t exist aside from the stitches I’m having removed today.

It’s not denial.

It’s…

“Why worry? It doesn’t solve anything.”

Thanks Dad.

Retirement

Making it Work

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It’s been just over a month since my last post. Since then, I’ve still been writing, but I will actually be paid for those scribbles. The paying customer always comes first!

This blog, and the book I’m working on feed my soul. The technical writing feeds my belly! As we strip our yard in preparation for new topsoil and sod, I am particularly grateful for some extra cash coming in.

It’s a curious thing. For years we watched our money go out…it always has, to varying degrees of course but it was a little less daunting watching it go out when there was also significant money coming in. For the first time, we are scratching away at our savings and watching it be replaced in smaller increments than it used to be.

And so I do some paid writing, mainly reports for departments throughout the college I used to work for. I know more about that college than I ever knew in my ten years as a full-time employee! I also look for random opportunities to bring money into my vacation fund. (I know, I know, I’m supposed to be retired what do I need a VACATION for?!)

This aspiring writer has entered the newspaper business…so to speak.

My husband and I have a paper route! We were walking along this street quite regularly to get some exercise. When a paper route became available in the area, I thought, “Why not get PAID to go for a walk?” We live in a small town, so this is just a once a week commitment, hence the pay is a tad underwhelming.

Underwhelming pay aside, it adds about a thousand bucks to my vacation goals over the year. (Tuscany for my 60th birthday!) The exercise we get is a bonus. It’s incredible how fast someone over 55 can make herself walk at minus 30!

After these writing contracts are done, I’m hoping to land one I’ve done before. Writing descriptions of wine and their vineyards for a wine auction was a lot of fun, and I even learned a little bit about wine in the process.

Perhaps I should start “research” for that one early…just in case?

Make that Italian wine…simultaneous vacation and work research, now that is what I call efficient!

Salute!

Doing what's right

The Gift of Getting Old

granny18

If you’ve reached retirement, you’ve aged a bit. Along with hot flashes, bad knees or hip replacements (or whatever your particular signs of aging are) comes the gift of all those years and the experiences they’ve brought us.

Some are not so lucky. Today is Green Shirt Day.

Green Shirt Day was born out of the loss of son and brother, it was born out of his organ donation and how it inspired a spike in organ donor registrations across Canada following the Humboldt Broncos bus crash. We know Logan Boulet’s parents. They are good people. It doesn’t surprise me that their son did something so selfless. Doing the right thing is what they do. That’s why, on a day when other parents may have stayed in bed, they’ve launched Green Shirt Day and have spent the last year since their loss spreading the word about having the “Kitchen Table Talk” to make your family aware of your wishes. Today has been one year since they laid an ear against their son’s chest and listened to his heart for the very last time. Today someone else feels that heart beating.

Along with that heart, 5 other people benefited from Logan’s donation.

Another mother is honouring Green Shirt Day today. Her daughter Paige was 17 when she passed… Like Logan, she helped 6 people to live better lives when hers was over too soon. None of these parents grieves any less but maybe there’s some small comfort in knowing those hearts are still beating.

We’ve been given a gift, living this long. If something happens to end our run…we could pass that gift along. We’re done with ’em. Sign up for organ donation. Tell your family (they will make the final decision so they need to know).

Links on how to donate in Canada’s provinces are here: https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/healthy-living/blood-organ-tissue-donation.html#a2

If you are new to organ donation registry today, I’d love to hear from you.

Retirement

Senior

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What is a “senior” exactly?

You have the Collins English Dictionary version:

 (adj) superior in rank or standing; older; of or for older pupils

(n) senior person

I like to think we fit the adjective definition of “superior in rank or standing.” We are definitely “older” (but still younger than someone!)

As for the noun…

When do you actually cross the wondrous threshold which makes you a “senior person”?

50?

I was able to join the Canadian Association of Retired Persons (CARP) at the age of 50 which entitled me to a number of benefits and discounts. I pay far less for home and cellular phone than I used to!

http://www.carp.ca/benefits-a-z/

55?

Several businesses gave me senior discounts when I hit 55. I celebrated my 55th birthday by going to Humpty’s Restaurant. Better than champagne at a swanky restaurant was getting my shiny green Humpty’s Emerald Club card which entitles me to 10% off , 20% on Tuesdays if you can manage to keep track of the days of the week post-retirement. (They also have marvellous sugar and jam packets on offer for the financially strapped kleptomaniac.)

https://www.humptys.com/emerald-55-club-card-registration/

60?

Many organizations and businesses called my husband a senior at 60. When he realized other folks were referring to him as a senior, he immediately started feeling “superior in standing” and then applied for the Canada Pension Plan (CPP). Some people wait until they are 65 for this one but after some number crunching, we decided applying at 60 could work for us.

https://www.canada.ca/en/services/benefits/publicpensions/cpp/cpp-benefit/apply.html

65?

This is the big one. Hubby turns 65 this year and will be eligible for the Old Age Security payment. (“Security” may be overstating the effect this amount has on a senior, but it helps!)

Additionally, many 65-year-olds are eligible for the Guaranteed Income Supplement, and their spouses age 60 – 64 may be entitled to an allowance.

https://www.canada.ca/en/services/benefits/publicpensions/cpp/old-age-security/payments.html

A 65-year-old here in my home province, may qualify for the Alberta Seniors Benefit which includes vision and health care. As a heart attack survivor on drugs to prevent a repeat, that medical benefit is precious to my hubby, and he is precious to ME, so I’m happy about this too.

https://www.alberta.ca/alberta-seniors-benefit.aspx

Here we are, still trying to decide if we are “senior persons”.

This list of discounts is sorted by category and age. It appears we are, or are not, a senior depending on who’s looking. Sometimes the discount is only given if we ask about it and follow with proof of age so a list of opportunities is helpful!

https://carleton.ca/cura/wp-content/uploads/Canadian-Senior-Discounts.pdf

But this, folks, this is the best indication of our senior status. 

This invitation, complete with pom poms glued on the corners, makes it official!

We received an invitation from our grandson for the school’s Seniors Tea. I can’t think of a better way to make it official. We weren’t available for these events for the older kids, still working and living two hours away. It is sheer joy to RSVP with a resounding,

“YES!” knowing the school is just 15 minutes away.

Looks like I’m a senior and happy to embrace it! “Tea” means cookies and cake you know… I am IN!

If you have any tips on discounts and subsidies, let me know! I’d love to hear from some of you.

Doing what's right

Praise

granny18

Motivational quotes and admonitions appear on social media sites and in self-help books, discouraging us from needing praise to feel good about ourselves. It’s good advice, and I know I’ve gotten better at flying my own kite no matter which way the winds around me are blowing.  If you find yourself in a relationship or an environment where accolades are thin on the ground, you could quickly flounder if the approval of others is the only thing behind your self-esteem. 

It’s important for us to observe and acknowledge our own excellent work and the positive steps we’ve taken in our lives. If you don’t have a shoulder injury, pat yourself on the back. You are good enough without the approval of others.

BUT

(There is always a BUT with this one isn’t there?)

I wonder if in trying to make our world less dependent on praise we’ve become stingy with it.

It’s good to not RELY on the approval of others but does this automatically lead to the argument that giving praise is BAD?

I don’t think so.

When a boss, co-worker, friend or family member sees what you are about, what you have done and gives you kudos for it, it’s not necessarily about giving you praise you NEED. It does create awareness that you aren’t the only one out there that knows you are doing incredible things in the world.

Alternatively, there’s a trend in some workplaces, mandating managers to give praise. Mandated praise… let that sink in. Nothing sucks the meaning out of a compliment faster than suspecting the giver is reading from a script.

Go team!

If it smells insincere, that’s how it’s received…like a bit of food gone “off.”   Give praise…but only when you feel it is truly deserved.

As for me and this particular kite I’m flying, I’m having fun writing this blog; I’m exercising my communication skills. I know I’m doing okay for someone relatively new to this game.

When I received a compliment from one of the best writers I know, it meant something to me and was an encouragement.

Did I NEED her encouragement to keep putting these thoughts rambling around my head out into the world? No.

But it still felt good.

The same person is really good at giving me constructive criticism when I need it. I learn from it, and that’s okay too.

Get out there folks, give compliments and encouragement when they are due.

I think it may be okay.

Doing what's right

Integrity

granny18

Retirement gives a person more time to watch and engage with current events.

Big in Canadian news at the moment, is a story of a former Attorney General and her Prime Minister, and the differences in their interpretation of events.

Whether or not you believe her version or his, the message of integrity has undoubtedly resonated with Canadians. She stood up and spoke up for what she felt was right, and Canadians thus far seem to have landed solidly in her camp. (One poll suggests 97% believe the former Attorney General 3% the Prime Minister’s representative)

It got me thinking about integrity. It’s always been important to me and has occasionally found me on the opposite side of someone in authority…a pretty tricky place to be.

What is integrity exactly? Honesty. Strong moral principles. The willingness to stand up for those principles even when it puts you in the line of fire.

One such incident had me advocating hard for someone when she was left afloat after a traumatic event. A union environment takes the idea of “scope” fairly seriously and it certainly wasn’t in my “scope” to find this student the assistance needed. My brain knew it was not my job as an administrative assistant, but at one point my heart decided it WAS my job as a human being. She was left in the water to sink or swim, and I just happened to have a lifeboat.

It was “the right thing to do.”

I think this is what has been resonating with Canadians. They believe the former Attorney General chose to stand by her principles, they believe it was “the right thing to do.”

A quote attributed to Winston Churchill says it all, “You have enemies? Good. That means you’ve stood up for  something sometime in your life.”

The former AG and I both respected our places of employment and the rules encompassing those institutions.  Occasionally though, the rules just don’t make sense when held up to the light of your own moral compass. 

I find myself less conflicted these days. Fewer people and ideas are running up against my integrity. 

That said, finances ARE tight…I may be able to overcome my moral principles sufficiently to steal some sugar packets and jam pods from the coffee shop…

Uncategorized

85 Factor

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I’ve worked 2 union jobs in my life and I was always in awe of how much conversational time could be devoted to the 85 factor.

The 85 factor, for you non-union folks, is a magical number where you get a full pension. It’s calculated by adding together your age and years of pensionable service at retirement. If the total equals at least 85 points, you’re entitled to an unreduced pension as early as your 55th birthday.

Retire at 55? Unbelievable!

I did.

BUT

I did not get an “unreduced pension” because my number was far from 85 and meant a VERY reduced pension. My grandsons make better money from their paper delivery than I do from my pension.  (Hey guys, can you float grandma a loan?)

I have a lot of life in me yet and could have stayed on to receive a better pension, but it was time to go.  There was a definite limit to the opportunities available to me at this employer and I was treading increasingly viscous waters. It was a great place to work but sometimes it’s just time to move forward.

The decision to retire was led by my heart not my wallet and that’s not entirely a bad thing.

Those folks endlessly discussing the 85 factor? Some of them died before, or shortly after, getting there. Some experienced poor health during the countdown. It was time, but they didn’t go. As an empath, their frustration was palpable to me, the air fairly thrummed with it. 

I need enough money to live on and explore the world a bit. A chunk at Christmas (I don’t call myself granny18 because of my age folks.) Beyond that, money is not my most powerful motivator. When I stopped leading a purpose-filled life at work, my motivation was gone. That’s how it works for me.

Making responsible financial choices for retirement is important, and I’ve done it in other ways. My focus was more on getting TO and THROUGH retirement happy, healthy and fulfilled.

Some people are fortunate to do both, reach their money magic number AND enjoy all the time getting there. (Maybe I’ll get those happy souls to buy me lunch? You know who you are… 😉

What’s your motivator? What kept (or keeps) you working? Was it (is it) the right decision for you?

Uncategorized

Who goes on a Retirement Journey Anyway?

granny18

A retirement blog might be assumed to be written by someone retired, yes?

Do I fit?

Looking at the definition of retirement as provided by Dictionary.com we see retirement explained as:

Retirement re·tire·ment rəˈtī(ə)rmənt

The action or fact of leaving one’s job and ceasing to work.  

Well, yes, I did leave my job. There was a party and everything.

No, I have not ceased to work.

So maybe not “retired”.

Dictionary. com suggests:

Semi-retirement sem·i·re·tire·ment semīrəˈtīrmənt

The practice of retiring or withdrawing from employment or an occupation but continuing to work part-time or occasionally.  

Ah yes, semi-retirement resembles more of what I have going on. I am part of a casual writing pool, write on a contract basis, babysit for kisses and have a gig which keeps me fit and contributes in a minimal way to my vacation fund.

I work sometimes, I do other things sometimes and sometimes… I write.

Over the years, people would say,

“You should be a writer.”

I always meant to do it.

There were little stabs here and there, and PILES of reflective journals adorn my office.

At a friend’s funeral, they read a letter out loud I had sent to him before he passed, promising I would follow his advice and write. (Busted)

 I became determined to follow through.

That was twelve years ago.

At another funeral, I was asked to be “emcee” for the celebration of life and received requests for the notes from the event.

“You should be a writer.”

I again became determined.

That was 4 years ago.

There was always something more important.

More important.

Babysitting, Facebook…cleaning the toilet.  Right.

During our recent move, I discovered a bit of the book I had started writing in 2008. Attached to the notes was an email from a much-respected friend, saying I had made her cry. She is one of the toughest people I know and doesn’t go in for unnecessary emotion; making her cry was worth noting. Upon rediscovery, I thought,  

“Huh, I’d forgotten this.”

I was surprised to see how far along the writing was. I always knew it was squirrelled away somewhere but had forgotten that I’d made progress.

We sometimes trudge along in our daily routines and create ruts so deep we can’t see over the rim to our dreams and bucket lists.

So, here I am in semi-retirement. A break in those trudging daily routines. A chance to get some of the things done I’ve been pushing aside. Most mornings (much as I had envisioned) begin with a leisurely cup of coffee and some reading.

But many of those mornings…

I write.

~ “I’d love to hear your comments on what you’re exploring in retirement, or what you will explore once you get there!”  – RD

Retirement

Roxanne’s Retirement Uniform (Motivation to Change)

granny18

I’m all about planning, it’s the nature of the beast. (“The Beast” in this case being an Administrative Assistant.) It would be no surprise to anyone who knows me to discover I had started planning for retirement sometime in my early forties.

Nonetheless, when an opportunity came to retire from a position, I felt somewhat surprised I qualified for retirement. Me? Planning for retirement was one thing, realizing I was now OLD enough was another thing entirely!

I had the option of saying, “No” and continuing in my position for a while. It was a union position, I was paid well enough and needed more years to get any kind of real pension.

So, why did I say, “Yes!” to retirement?

My brother was diagnosed with cancer last summer and had major surgery. He is mentally disabled and I am guardian to this sweet human.  It is a joy but also entails going to appointments, advocating, sitting by his bedside (holding the puke bucket…) He is turning 75 this year and is starting to fail physically since his hospitalization. He needs me; I am his only family.

My daughter’s Mother-In-Law had recently retired, enjoyed her grandchildren, traveled, went camping and was having a ball. That alone might have motivated me but it was her sudden passing that truly influenced my decision. When she first got sick with an illness contracted out of country, she boldly stated that this wasn’t going to keep her from traveling. I had always admired the woman but the fact that this severe illness wasn’t going to stop her retirement plans made me admire her even more. Sadly, she didn’t recover from that illness, never got to keep traveling, never got to bring out more markers for the grandkids. It could happen to anyone. It could happen to me or you.

Thirdly, my daughter, Mom to three little ones, was planning to apply to medical school and my son and his wife were adding twins to their toddler; it seemed like a good time to change my priorities and become more available to the people in my life.

Halloween retirement_InPixio

I chose to retire October 31st, for one reason only. I could wear pyjamas to work, call it a costume and nobody could fire me. There were a couple of folks who giggled uneasily as they sidestepped out the door, but it was kind of liberating to not care, not even a little bit. Those who I would keep in touch with got the joke, those that didn’t…didn’t.  Along with Pyjama pants, I wore a T-shirt with a picture of me in a housecoat and fluffy slippers holding a cup of coffee. I thought maybe this was what retirement looked like.

It did.

For about a week.

It’s been surprisingly busy, full of adventures, children, self-reflection, and retirement budgeting! Join me on the ride?