Routine Ain't So Bad After All !

My first major adventure out of New Brunswick was when I accompanied my Dad on a business trip to Montreal. Why he took me (one of six children) out of school to accompany him, I have no idea. But it was a wonderful adventure. We stayed at the historic Windsor Hotel on Dominion Square. While my Dad attended his meetings I explored St. Cathrine's Street and imbibed the excitement of the big city. I wandered around wondering why there were so many cars from Quebec but none from Montreal?

I would return to the hotel in the late afternoon to meet Dad for dinner. On one occasion, while waiting around in the lobby, I was unseemly ushered out the front entrance and on to the street because the Doorman did not believe I was a hotel guest. Needless to say, my father raised a little brouhaha later with the poor clerk at the front desk!

Where is the portable ladder?

We traveled by train to and from Montreal. In those days it was an overnight trip so we had seats in the Pullman Sleeping Car. The wonderful porter made up the berths during dinner hour and at night picked up the shoes left in the aisle, and returned them highly polished for the morning. 

Years later I remember reading that many of those great men, who spent their lives as Pullman porters,  died a few years after retirement. Even modern research would indicate that men are more at risk than women. For the porters no doubt working in a smokey environment, poor diet and lack of exercise and sleep probably contributed to their early demise.

But there is a lesson to be learned. I remember when I first retired I would brag, "Everyday is Saturday from now on." Others picture retirement as an on-going vacation - sitting on a lawn chair under an umbrella, drink in hand. But they soon  become tired and bored. What retirees need is a new routine. Now I admit that work routines were saddled with  the pressure of  deadlines, drudgery, repetitious job demands and strict structures. Obviously, that is not the kind of routine we need in retirement. But, without some structure life stagnates and goes down hill very fast.

Now that I am aware that my future does not promise a third set of forty years, I have learned to cherish each day. When I first retired I took on so many volunteer jobs that after five years Maureen wanted to know when I was going to really retire. But even now as I settle my mind and body for sleep each night I find myself asking, "What of value did I accomplish today?" Old habits die hard. But now my satisfying accomplishments are not magnanimous acts of creativity, but the ability  to successfully enjoy the simple things I love to do...but doing them on a routine regular basis. My routines now include going to the gym three mornings a week, setting time aside each day for informational and pleasure reading, writing a small bulletin for the condominium corporation, strumming my guitar, taking my turn in the kitchen or doing the house cleaning once a week. Most of all, sitting down with my four o'clock cappuccino each day and siting back listening to some great music. In the summer finding time to work on the boat or even go for a sail! Rarely do I wake up and say I have nothing to do today!

Indeed, I cherish my time so much that even having to attend a doctors appointment is an annoyance that breaks my private routine! Everyone needs some sort of a simple routine that gives purpose and meaning to their everyday lives. At the end of each day we can roll over and sleep knowing it was a day well spent.

On the other hand perhaps you would rather follow the advice of Jackie Kennedy. "The only routine with me is no routine at all."  But she was rich and famous!

And that's Dick's View of the World this Week