Passing the Baton

My daughter graduated from library school in June.  I retired from my 40 year career as a librarian in July.

Just as I left the profession, my daughter began job hunting for her first professional library position.

She just called to say she had accepted a very good job offer.

I am so proud of her and happy that she has chosen the profession that sustained me for 40 years.

My daughter's and my lives have had many parallels, 37 years apart. 

We both moved thousands of miles away from our families, we both wanted to be actresses and we both became librarians.

We were born

"Welcome to the world!"

      1948                                                                                  1985                                                                                                     

                                                                        


        

 

 

 

 

We grew up in loving families.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We Graduated from High School

 

                 1966                                                                                                        2003                                                                                                                                                                                                      

                                                               

We Graduated from College

             1970

 

 

 

 

 

 2007

 

 

 

 

 

 

We Got Married

 

  




                                  1984                                                                    2010

                                                

 

 

We Were Actresses and Performers

                                                 

 

                                    

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then we became librarians.

 

 

 

Welcome to the world of libraries!

 

 

 

 

               

     My first job -  1974                                                   Her first job - 2013

 

 

A picture is worth a thousand words!

 

 

 

 

My mother got a real kick out of my daughter. 

 

 

 

Once, when my mother was particularly complimentary about her, I said, "Just like me, huh, Mom?" 

 

To which she replied, "Yes, only better!" 

 

Mom!!!

 

But she was right.  Don't we wish our children to be better than we were, to do better than we did?

 

And now my daughter has parlayed her education and three years managing a retail store (while her husband finished up his Ph.D) into a library management position as her first job, something it took me three years into the profession to attain.

 

As the conductor of my own life, I have chosen to retire from the symphony I conducted for the last 40 years, pass my baton and bow to the next generation.

 

I know some of what lies ahead for her. May she enjoy it as I have.

 

Now I am on to my next symphony!

 

 

Have you passed your baton to someone?

 

 

 

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

 

 

 

See you Friday for a Thanksgiving Wrap-up!

 

                                          

                                                         Thanks for reading!

If you enjoyed this post, feel free to share it and/or email it to your friends.



 

 

 

 

 



Retirement: First Week in Review and What I've Learned So Far

We all fantasize about having all of the time in the world, but if you ever really had all of the time in the world, would you know what to do with it?

If you are blessed with a passion and the talent to go with it, perhaps you really are just waiting to quit your crappy job so you can devote all of your time to your passion.  But for most of us, being given all of the time in the world can present us with new challenges, problems even, as we try to create structure, purpose and community, the supposed three requisites to a happy and successful retirement.

So I have set up a sort of schedule for myself in order to create requisite #1:

Structure.

• Get up when I feel like it, unless I have something pressing I need to do, which so far, I haven't had
• Read the paper and assorted magazines to keep up with the films, food, fashion and fun I so adore (I may be retired but I'm not living in a bunker)
• Look over recipes for menu ideas
• Clean up the kitchen
• Waddle upstairs with tea to watch "The View"
• Check Facebook, email, bank account (start worrying about bank account)
• Go to the gym
• Errands (if I have any)
• Return home
• Shower
• Read, blog, watch TV, special project
• Happy Hour with hubby
• Dinner
• TV
• Bed

During this first week, I have learned the following things:
1.  How long it takes a woman to finally give up on herself and let it all hang out
2.  What I was glad I missed while working
3.  Meditation is not easy
4.  The common plot thread that governs Lifetime movies
5.  I am very boring

So let's break these down in order

1. You might remember in an earlier blog, I asked the question, "When does a woman stop dyeing her hair, wearing make-up, etc. and turns into a little old lady?" 
Well, a few days ago during this first week of my retirement, hubby said me, "What's with your hair?" 
And my reply was, "What's with my hair is that this is what it looks like when I don't do anything with it as in getting ready for work. Who's going to see me except you?"

So here I am, answering my own question about when a woman gives up on herself. 

The answer is THREE DAYS INTO RETIREMENT! 

So that's how it starts.   First you don't care what you look like around hubby.  Then when you get used to that, you don't care what you look like at the gym, then you don't care when you are out shopping and, pretty soon, before you know it, you are wearing old lady shoes (AKA comfortable), polyester elastic waist trousers and all hell breaks loose.

Geez, I had better add personal grooming to my new daily schedule.

2.  While standing in the kitchen waiting for one of my delicious casseroles to cook and wondering how many calories it has in it, I looked up at the curtains over my sink.  We have been having day after day of sun, something unusual for the Pacific NW, so I was inclined to look upward more than usual.  I noticed something and called hubby into the kitchen. 

 "What is that up there on the curtain?" 
Hubby squinted and said, "Looks like dirt." 

After closer scrutiny, I realized it was not only dirt, but years and years of dirt and grime! 
Well, they have been up there for 8 years, I thought. 
I know what you are thinking, but, hey, when I was out of the house commuting and working 50+ hours per week, did I want to spend my leisure time spring cleaning?  Hell, no! 
Add to that the fact that it's usually gloomy and gray here in the Pacific NW and nobody notices dirty curtains, so those curtains had been languishing unnoticed. 
But when I found a half-eaten bone that had been under the couch so long it had petrified, that did it!

"HUBBEEEEEE!, " I screech!!!!  We need to take down all of the curtains and clean everything!"
Down came all of the curtains and I am happy to report that they are now washed and ironed and I am surveying the house for all other tasks that need to be addressed. 

Add another task to that old schedule I am compiling. 
The garage is next and I have declared Wednesday as "House Project Day!" 

Hubby is starting to rethink my being home all of the time.

All clean.

3.  Meditation - I thought I had sat quietly breathing and counting and watching clouds and letting thoughts come and go like little wisps of fairy dust in my mind at least 20 minutes this time.  Made it to 3.7.

4.  After years of watching Lifetime Movies, I have finally found the common plot thread: 
If you have followed any of my blogs in the past, you probably know I already have an unnatural attraction to Lifetime movies.  And the fact that I am even thinking about them is alarming, but I finally realized the thriller style movie - woman being stalked by a crazed, obsessed lover/husband/roommate/teacher/garbageman - always starts with a cold opening teaser, usually of the victim or bad guy running away from something. 
Then the screen will say "Six months later" or "Ten years earlier. 
The ending shows the crazed, obsessed lover/husband/roommate/teacher/garbageman caught or killed or put somewhere where we will never have to deal with this person again...and then the last scene shows a character looking straight on into the camera with a look that implies...

or will we? 

I bring this up only because I want to give you the full picture of the demons I must fight as I try to figure out the difference between leisure and goofing off.  I am having to restrain myself from TIVO-ing the next new movie with the intriguing title, "Deadly Spa."

5.  Dylan Thomas said, "Something is boring me; I think it is me." 

See "Structure" schedule outlined above.

So I have structured my time. 

Now I need to figure out the Community and Purpose parts of the three things I must have to be a successful retiree...I will tackle that later. 

In the meantime, since I bill myself as "Rosy the Reviewer, Thoughts on Films, Food, Fashion and Fun," I had better review something.

Here is the week in reviews:

Films:

Identity Thief - Terrible.

A Good Day to Die Hard - Hated it.

So those are my film reviews for this week.

Food:

Trying not to think about it.

Fashion:

Full-figured women can wear skinny jeans, just know you will look full-figured not skinny.

Fun:
(and just so you know, I love to read, so books fall into the Fun category, since I couldn't think of an "F" word that would embody books - and I don't read much fiction):

Moving on to a higher note, here is a really fabulous book for you literary types.  And even if you don't consider yourself a literary type, this is a good read.

This was the fodder for what became "The Bell Jar."  In the early 1950's, Plath was chosen as one of 20 young college women to be guest editors at Mademoiselle magazine, back when Mademoiselle was as much a literary magazine as a fashion one. The title characterizes how she felt during her month in New York City.  This was a huge honor for her, but that summer led to her breakdown, famously documented in "The Bell Jar."  What is interesting here is the dichotomy that was Plath - she was as much into champagne and frilly frocks as she was villanelles and sonnets, something that is often overlooked because of her often dark writing and her suicide.

More Fun:

Attended two concerts this last weekend at the Chateau Ste. Michelle, a wonderful outdoor venue on the grounds of a winery.

Robert Plant

who was fantastic.  Never was a big Led Zeppelin fan, but he certainly played the Rock God role to the hilt.

Terri Nunn and Berlin were next.  (Remember "Take My Breath Away?") followed by Pat Benatar.  Loved Terri - she came down into the audience and mingled with us regular folk. The last time I saw her, I was on the aisle, so when she came down she stopped and put her hand on my cheek and looked deeply into my eyes.  One of those groupie moments I love so much!
 

Terri Nunn

 

 

And Pat was in great voice.

(Did you know she trained as an opera singer?)

 

Pat Benatar

 

I guess as long as I can still rock, there's hope.

 

And that my friends, is the long and the short of it for this week. 

 

 

I know, that was a cheap laugh.  Couldn't resist.

Adorable children and dogs in costumes work every time!