Retirement
Peter and I were celebrating the eleventh anniversary of his retirement today, so we drove 'up-island' as far as Nanaimo and spent the day doing what we love to do best - nothing! The picture above was taken from the top of the Malahat Highway. The view is south-east and the land directly across the water is part of the Greater Victoria area. Washington state is visible in the distance. That's Peter below, taken at Cowichan Bay, a former fishing village which now seems to be focussing on tourism. There are some interesting little shops along the one street through the village.
Peter managed to retire at fifty and the dear man loves it! I'd say that he's lazy --he'd even say that he's lazy -- but I think that sounds a little harsh. Peter just doesn't enjoy doing much other than relaxing. He's such a nice man, though, and I'm lucky to have him. If he's a little slow about getting things done, that's o.k. It's been good having him home. We had been warned at a pre-retirement seminar that some women find their newly-retired husbands get underfoot. There is a tendency to offer unsolicited advice on shopping and housekeeping and any number of things that the wife had previously managed to do quite adequately without advice. Apparently the Japanese have a phrase for it -- they compare a retired husband to a "wet leaf on the floor", meaning "next to impossible to remove".
Peter has only occasionally irked me. He's such a likeable person (I'm sure you can see that from his picture!) and I always tell him "Not only do I love you, I can HACK you too!" I wonder how many seemingly perfect matches fall apart when the partners suddenly realize that they can't actually stand each other.
posted by Susan @ 11:53 PM
6 Comments:
Retire at 50! Lucky him. Lovely post, lovely photos, Susan.
Thanks, Maxine. It was a grey-ish day so the pictures didn't quite measure up.
Looks a lovely part of the world - interesting, relaxed - well that's how it seems to me, anyhow.
Love that 'wet leaf on the floor' expression - one for my store of useful insults.
It is a very relaxed place, Clare. When I first arrived I found it all quite annoying because I was in the habit of getting things done. It's almost zen-like because I needed to develop perfect patience to make it through the day. Now if I want something done I fully expect it to take a month or two and I prepare my husband with something like "one of these days I'd like you to dig a hole for that rose..." I used just that phrase about a month ago and the rose was planted a week ago! If this sounds like criticism, it isn't; I have a wonderfully calm and easy life.
Beautiful pics Susan. Sounds like you and Peter have a near-perfect relationship (would be weird if he didn't irk you sometimes!). I love to spend time with Lewis at home too and, although we've a fair way to go before retiring, we do try and spend as much time together as possible sharing our ideas and thoughts on the world...
It's wonderful to have a relationship with someone who also has every positive attribute of a good friend. It sounds like you and Lewis have that too, Sian. Incidentally, I think he's very good looking - I saw the pictures you posted...(wherever they were posted.)
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