This blog is written by Lee Gale Gruen to help retirees, those soon to retire, baby boomers, and seniors reinvent themselves in this new stage of their lives called retirement. Her blog, public lecture, and new self-help book on senior reinvention are titled: Reinventing Yourself in Your Retirement Years: Find Joy Excitement, and Purpose After You Retire. Her memoir is: Adventures with Dad: A Father and Daughter’s Journey Through a Senior Acting Class. Books descriptions follow her blog below. Both books are available at Amazon.com by clicking here and here. Her website is: LeeGaleGruen.com
Now, on to my blog:
I love French toast–that is, after I avoid making it by employing every excuse or diversion I can muster. I’m not sure why I do that, but the answer might lie in the effort to bring it to fruition; the tiresome cleanup; the bread with its excess of carbs that proceeds directly from my mouth to my hips without passing Go; and even more calories from the toppings: butter, syrup, and powdered sugar. (Tip: You can switch out the toppings with equally fattening fare.)
Once I have the French toast sitting on a plate in front of me, I slather, pour, and dig in.
Yum, why don’t I eat this more often?
The sentiment doesn’t last long. The next time I contemplate making French toast, the same evasion sets in. I visualize that societal finger wagging.
Many things in life are like French toast. Taking a shower is another for me. It seems like such a waste of time when I could be doing something else much more satisfying or productive. I think up all kinds of reasons to delay it: I need to make a phone call first; I want to research a matter on the internet first; I have to exercise first; I have to eat breakfast first; I have to…I have to… Of course, I could skip a shower altogether, but I run the risk of folks steering clear of me despite my charming personality.
After I finish my personal hygiene routine and cleaning up after myself, a precious hour of my life has elapsed. I could have been writing my next blog, for goodness sake. The strange thing is that once I’m in the shower with the warm water falling on me, I love it. Then, I delay getting out.
Just one more minute…this is my reward for doing my diligence…it’s good for my soul!
Another French toast moment that comes to mind is the onerous preparation of my income taxes. Oh yes, I can procrastinate on that until the last possible minute. Once I get into it and organize everything, however, there’s an immense gratification. I enjoy making my life orderly.
How many F. T. items do you have in your life? It’s always a contest between our requirements and our joys. There are all kinds of proverbs dealing with this issue such as: “Never put off to tomorrow what you can do today,” or “Cleanliness is next to Godliness” (for those of you with my shower affliction).
Life is full of F.T. examples. Nevertheless, we must perform them to make our lives run smoothly. Just slog through what you consider chores, so you can be done with them and get to the good stuff. You just might be surprised that the dreaded and delayed duties often yield a positive payoff.
Image by yasakimo from Pixabay
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BOOKS BY: LEE GALE GRUEN
Reinventing Yourself in Your Retirement Years: Find Joy, Excitement, and Purpose After You Retire (self-help): Not a one-size-fits-all approach, this self-help book for retirees, those soon to retire, baby boomers, and seniors offers an individualized, detailed guide to assist readers in discovering activities and pursuits in this new stage of their lives called retirement, based on their own likes and comfort level. I learned the secret the hard way transitioning from retired probation officer to actress, author, public speaker, and blogger. Audience members at my lectures on senior reinvention requested a book on the subject. This is the result, and it contains the content of those talks and six years of posts from this blog. CLICK here TO PURCHASE FROM AMAZON.COM.
Adventures with Dad: A Father and Daughter’s Journey Through a Senior Acting Class (memoir): After retiring at age 60 from my 37-year career as a probation officer, I mistakenly enrolled in an acting class for seniors. A few weeks later, my mother died, and I invited my grieving, 85-year-old father to come to class with me. This is the true story of our magical journey attending that class together for three years, bonding more than ever. I wrote the comedy scenes we performed onstage twice a year in the acting class showcases, and all six scenes are included in the book. I eventually transitioned into the world of professional acting. As my fledgling, second career started going uphill, my dad’s health started going downhill. I would recount to him each of my new experiences while I sat beside his bed at the nursing home where he resided in his final years. CLICK here TO PURCHASE FROM AMAZON.COM.
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Reinventing Yourself in Your Retirement Years 