Summer has always been my favorite season, especially in the Tri-Cities. There’s nothing better than cool, quiet mornings followed by a sunny day ideally on the water or on a golf course. Last summer feels like a blur, this summer feels like my first real summer without Obie. Being retired also brings an entirely new feel to summer, in all the best ways. It’s almost like the anticipation of summer break when I was in school. As I have settled back home after the winter in Arizona, I am excited for what this summer will bring, even if his absence feels more pronounced. I wish that we could have had summer time together after I retired but I feel his hand at my back, urging me to make the most of this time. My goals for this summer are to pretend I’m a professional triathlete and train every day while balancing time with friends and family, boating, golfing and working on the best tan of my life.

There have been moments over the last few weeks where I shake my head and wonder “how lucky am I to get to live this life”. That may sound odd given the crushing lost last year, but I feel like this could be the best summer of my life and that Obie would be the first one to be happy about that. Bad things happen, it is our choice what we do in response. I want to continue to evolve and live the best life that I possibly can. I have learned so much about myself over the last few months with a lot of hard introspection. I will always avoid the pull to fall into victim mode as that is looking in the rear view mirror. Everything happens for a reason, the challenge is to understand what it means for the future. My past has and will continue to shape me, but I am the only one who can create my dream life. I choose to be healthy and happy surrounded by people who I love and who love me in return.

Wow, that got philosophical right off the bat! My life is moving at a fast pace, so here’s a quick rundown of what’s been going on for the last two months. I can’t believe it is already June, four more months and we’ll be starting the migration back south. I’m heading to Walla Walla today to catch up with Melissa, we’re going to road trip to AZ together so we’ll start nailing down our route. This summer is going to fly by with lots of road trips, camping with family and friends, Suncadia with my extended family, Chelan with my kids and other few other road trips.

One of the highlights of the last few months was attending the Kentucky Derby with two amazing young adults. Someone asked us at a bar in Louisville “how are you all connected?” It was easy for Derek and Kate to respond that they were cousins, then they looked at me and the best way to describe it was to say that we were adopted family. This old lady was pretty proud that I could hang with the cool kids! If you ever get a chance to attend the Derby, jump at it. It is one of my favorite sporting events I’ve had the privilege to attend. The horses, the venue, the outfits, the history, the people watching, it was a magical day and we are anxiously waiting for tickets to go on sale for next year. You’ll also find us at the other Triple Crown races at some point. My horse obsession from when I was a little girl is back with a vengeance. While I’m not interested in owning a horse, I am willing to clean stalls, groom, feed, anything to be around horses. Next year I want to do a women’s horse retreat in Montana which means I better get into some riding lessons soon! In my truest manifesting self, I may have already bought all of the gear that I’ll need to ride. Giddy up!

*Beneath the Twin Spires with Derek and Kate.*

Memorial Day weekend was especially poignant this year as Cindy’s birthday fell on Saturday. Her youngest, Blake, and I did our annual hike to place flowers and watch the sunrise. It is amazing that we’ve been doing this for 9 years. She has been on my mind a lot lately since I’ve been doing more hiking until I am released to run in two weeks. The day before her birthday I was hiking on Badger Mountain, asking for her guidance on something I was struggling with. As I crossed the ridgeline and hiked into the power of the sunrise, I was surrounded by more butterflies than I’ve ever seen. Every time I tried to take a picture, they disappeared. After a few times I realized that this was not to be captured but to be cherished. I spend the rest of the hike thinking about our friendship, how it started and evolved. There were a lot of tears but ended with a smile, being thankful for having her in my life. The cemetery where we have our niche does an amazing job of celebrating Memorial Day with hundreds of flags. I actually feel Obie’s presence more pronounced in other places, I still visited the Amacker family and updated their flowers. I am so blessed to have these angels guiding my life.

*Our annual flower memorial to Cindy on Candy Mountain.*

Someone asked me recently, “what is your typical day?” In case you are curious what a retired, single lady schedule looks like, here is my typical day (hint, they are all just weekends!)

Wake up around 6 am and do my normal morning routine. I don’t drink coffee but wake up bright eyed and ready to tackle the day. My morning routine is to feed the dogs, water a few of my outside pots that are not on irrigation, fill my fountain on my back deck, straighten anything in the house from the night before, make the bed (ALWAYS) as an unmade bed drives me crazy, check all of my email accounts (I have 4 to manage), have breakfast and review the plan for the day. Each weekend, I write out everything happening for the next week in my planner.
My two active consulting contracts are with companies on the east coast so I have most of my meetings in the morning. I have standing meetings 2-3 days a week with usually a few more hours of follow up work. Nothing too crazy.
I also try to get my training done in the morning especially as it starts to get hotter. So a mix of swim, bike, run and strength throughout the week.
I usually have errands to run at some point during the day so I’ll head out to get those done usually around lunch time.
Afternoons are usually a bit slower with some reading, laying out in the sun or working on small projects around the house.
Several times a week I’ll have lunches or dinners lined up with friends and family. There is rarely a day where I don’t have any meetings or dates with friends. So while I live alone, I am rarely lonely.
I usually have an early dinner and will spend the evening reading or watching TV. Unless my girlfriends have activities that they spring on me, in which case I quickly ditch the PJs and get ready to go out.
Weekends are pool time with Cole and Eva as well as any other times during the week that work with their schedules.

I shudder to think about working a full time job, I don’t think my brain could handle it! My days are full but not stressful which feels like the best kind of retirement.

In my most recent session with my medium, she reinforced that the best thing I can do right now is to take this time for me. No need to search out projects, no crisis that needs to be solved, no one needs saving, it is a summer to just relax and live. While I have a vision for what my future could be, I’m not actively pursuing any of that until next year. I’m also holding off on any major renovations around the house until next year. For someone who is pretty goal oriented (ok, you could say Type A), it is a huge relief to grant myself some time to not crank on all cylinders. This is the summer when I will be saying “yes” to any opportunities that sound fun. Happy hours, concerts in the park, rounds of golf, lunch or dinner, odds are if you ask me, I’m in. I hope that you can also shed some of the burden this summer and really embrace the joy of life. Life is good if you chose to live it!

Summer of “yes”

Metamorphosis