My Retirement Years
Although retirement never was in my thoughts in my early career, I began taking it more seriously as I got closer to that magic date. I was very fortunate as the State of Illinois provided good health insurance and a very nice pension for its employees. I will never complain as long as the State of Illinois stays viable.
The Retirement sub-section has nine chapters.
Introduction
What is retirement? In its most simplistic terms, retirement can be defined as the period of a person’s life during which she/he is no longer working. In the United States, the retirement age is generally considered to be about 65 or 66, although many of us decide to retire earlier or later. (In the current financial environment, it appears that more and more workers are working longer.) Depending on one’s age, he/she becomes eligible for full Social Security benefits at 66+ years and that number is rising. Of course, some workers are not eligible for these benefits. Retirement, however, may not be as simple or as easy as it sounds for everyone. It is a new way of life that requires many adjustments in one’s way of thinking and living. Decisions must be made relating to the where and the when and one’s readiness for this slowed-down new adventure. (Actually not all retirees exhibit a slowed-down lifestyle. That is a choice that one eventually has to make.) There are always health and financial considerations. Some people adjust to retirement very easily while others struggle with it. Statistics indicate that many retirees die in the first or second year of retirement. No matter how it is presented, retirement is a huge decision and should never be taken lightly.
When I began working at the Illinois Department of Public Aid in 1972, retirement never entered my mind. I was just so happy to have landed a great position. I was puzzled when I would hear other guys who had 20 or 25 years to go before reaching retirement age continually talking about retirement. I suppose that I always thought that my retirement days are a long time away and I did not want to dwell on getting older. Also, I think living one’s life obsessed by his retirement date is not healthy.
I did not have serious thoughts about retirement until about five years before I was eligible. I was very fortunate to be able to call the State of Illinois my employer. I suppose that the number one thing that one must consider is the financial aspect of retirement. Not only did I have a great health insurance plan, I also had a very nice pension plan. In addition, the Illinois legislators took good care of us. About five years before I actually retired, they passed a law that allowed veterans to purchase their years of service in the military at a significantly reduced rate and add those years to their state employment years of service. I jumped on that offer and purchased my two years of military service.
Seriously Thinking of Retirement
In 1999, the legislators passed legislation that offered an early–out incentive to employees in 2000, employing the argument that it was a way to save the State of Illinois lots of money. As a numbers person, I could never understand how they came to that conclusion. I did not take advantage of this offer, as I was not quite ready at that time. Later, the Illinois legislators struck again and passed a law called the rule of 85 for state employees. This rule stated that any employee whose age and time of service added to 85 could retire without reduced benefits. That law certainly piqued my interest in retirement.
When the rule of 85 legislation was passed, I began thinking seriously about retirement. It was now just a matter of the right time. Knowing that retirement was in our near future, Marlene and I began discussions about where we might like to retire. I began reading articles about retirement in magazines.
I purchased the “Retirement Places Rated Gude” and read it from cover to cover. We selected a few different destinations to evaluate. We then rated those destinations by factors that were important to us such as natural beauty, 4-season moderate climate, medical facilities, cultural activities, and financial factors. We did not necessarily want to go to a place that only had “old people”. We eventually narrowed it down to a few places. The next step was to visit those destinations; thus, during my last few years with the State of Illinois, we took vacations to the places of interest. We visited the Hill Country of Texas. We visited Asheville and Hendersonville, North Carolina. We visited Prescott, Arizona. We visited Cookeville, Tennessee. We visited Sequim, Washington.
Now that we had real-time experience at each of these places, it was time for our final decision. After much research and discussion, we decided that we wanted to retire in Sequim, Washington. It was so beautiful, the weather was moderate, and it had good medical facilities. Like most nice areas, buying property there was much more expensive than in the Springfield, Illinois area, but we determined that we could afford it.
Now that the decision of where to retire had been finalized, we had to determine when was the right time. Yes, when is the perfect time to retire? I did enjoy my job as Director of Research and Statistics at the Illinois Department of Insurance Cost Containment Section. Sometime in 2002, I reached that magic number of 85. I could now seriously contemplate retirement. At that time, there were several factors that significantly contributed to the timing of our retirement.
- Marlene was ready to retire.
- Merit Compensation (non-union) personnel were not getting cost-of-living raises. If I remember correctly, I did not get raises from 1998 until I retired in 2004.
- The home that we resided in had to be sold and finalized. We had to make arrangements for a moving van. We had to visit Sequim and find a place to rent for a few months.
- A new governor was inaugurated in 2002 and I did not like some of the things that he was proposing. Governor Rod Blagoyevich ended up having his difficulties.
- Positions were getting more political and I was never a political employee. I served under six governors – two Democratic and four Republican. In an effort to get their political appointees into certain positions, CMS (Personnel Department) began rewriting technical position job descriptions in a manner so that everyone could qualify. In effect, we had political appointees working in positions that were formally held by research economists and statisticians. Basically all management titles, were collapsed into a public service administrator title, a management title for which almost anyone could easily qualify.
Pulling the Trigger
After careful consideration in the spring of 2003, I decided that it was my time. Yes, the appropriate time had come. In the summer of 2003, Marlene put the house on the market. I would now retire after the house sold and that transaction was finalized. After selling the house in August 2003, and not closing, it was put back on the market, only to be purchased by the same person a couple of months later. (After forfeiting her earnest money the first time, she had to commit to a significantly higher earnest money the second time around.) The second time was a charm. I gave my notice in December 1, 2003 and retired on the last day of January of 2004. I was 56 years old and had worked for the State of Illinois for more than 33 years (This includes the two years of military service that I purchased.). Thus, I had easily met the requirements of the rule of 85.
Marlene and I had lived in Rochester, Illinois, from 1990 to January 31, 2004. I officially retired from the State of Illinois on January 31, 2004. On that day, we left Rochester, Illinois, and were on our way to Sequim, Washington.
Moving to Washington
As aforementioned, we began our move to beautiful Sequim, Washington, on my retirement date of January 31, 2004. (The moving van actually left Rochester the night before at about 8:00 PM. A light snow was covering the ground on that day as we were loading the truck!) We had visited Sequim in November 2003 and rented a house that would be our new residence. It was a very nice two-story about two miles east of Sequim. It turned out that a 2-level house may not have been the best decision as I had to have knee surgery later that year. It was really difficult for me to negotiate the stairs during my recovery.
We had always planned to build a new house in Washington. In early spring, we began our search for the “perfect lot”. After looking at several potential sites, we found a great lot halfway between Sequim and Port Angeles. The lot was located at a Port Angeles address, an address that we actually hated. That address was 11 Reich Lane. The Reich family had owned and developed the plat. (The street name was the only thing that we did not like about our new lot.) The lot was fronted by the Olympic Mountain range. The back had a view of the Strait of San Juan de Fuca. It had a downward slope to the North which made it ideal for building a home with a daylight basement. As we knew we were getting older, our plan was to build a ranch style so that everything that we needed was on the same level.
We eventually selected a builder and a plan that we liked. We selected a plan for a 2500-2600 square foot Prairie style ranch home. This plan had two bedrooms, a large living/family room with a large fireplace, a large kitchen/dining room area, a laundry room, and two baths on the upstairs level. The walkout basement only provided additional space as all the necessary rooms were on the main floor. The walkout basement included two bedrooms, a large family/TV room which included a small kitchenette, a bathroom, and two large storage areas. One would never know that there was a lower level when viewing our home from the front. However, it was very obvious from the back of the house. From the back one would easily note that the home had a huge window on the second floor that overlooked the Strait. Our new home was comfortable and we loved it.
After a couple of months, we found a church that we really liked. It was called Dungeness Community Church. It was a non-denominational church located about two or three miles north of Sequim. We joined a prayer group that met once a week that we really loved. Many in our new circle of friends were part of that prayer group. The Church had many activities and the pastors preached from the Bible.
Our new home was located about seven miles from Sequim and seven miles from Port Angeles. I suppose one could say that we lived in the boonies. We did not like the idea that we were so far away from shopping. We had to drive to Silverdale if we were going to do any serious shopping. Since I was retired, I required very little serious shopping. Even though our address was Port Angeles, we considered ourselves Sequimites as most of our activities were in the Sequim area.
One of the nice attractions of Sequim was the lavender fields. There were about seven or eight lavender farms within ten miles of us. Each July, Sequim has a large lavender festival which lasts for a weekend. I think it is the largest in the United States. The festival is attended by folks from all over the world. Those lavender fields are so beautiful. At the festival, one can add lavender to his drink or food of choice or use the lavender for about any purpose imaginable. (Note that I did not say that all of the uses made sense or were practical). Personally, I like the scent of lavender in small doses; however, it can be overwhelming at times. The festival offered an abundance of food, entertainment, and activities. It was fun for all!
In May of each year, Sequim has the annual Irrigation Festival. I realize that almost everyone thinks that it rains in Washington all the time. That might be true in Seattle, but in sunny Sequim, the summers are very dry. That is due to Sequim being located in a rain shadow. The Sequim area has what pilots call the “blue hole”. The “blue hole” received its name from aviators as they would fly through the otherwise very cloudy skies to this area where visibility was great. This “blue hole” made their navigation much easier. Due to this phenomenon, Sequim has more than its share of retired aviators.
With the rain shadow effect, Sequim rainfall only measures 12-15 inches each year. Yes, the summers in Sequim are fantastic and the overall climate is moderate. That does not mean, however, that the winters are not dreary. Due to the cloud cover in the winter months, we began spending our winters in Florida in 2011.
Health Issues
During our stay in the Pacific Northwest, I had some medical issues. In late 2004, I had my first knee surgery followed by a second one in 2009. In 2005, I was diagnosed with diabetes that I, fortunately, have been able to control with medication. While in Washington, I had two bouts with kidney stones. The urologist was able to handle the first bout with lithotripsy, but the second time was much more serious. I had to have microscopic back surgery to remove them. The surgery was really not that bad; however, the stones caused me to lose about 90% function in one of my kidneys. The surgeon wanted to remove that kidney but my primary care doctor talked the surgeon out of doing that. My overall kidney function has been only 30% and stable for the last seven years. (I keep praying!)
About four years ago, I began wearing glasses and I think that I may finally be getting used to them. I am happy to report that I do see much better. Three years ago, I was fitted with hearing aids as my hearing was extremely poor. I am certain that my loss of hearing is the result of being near all the artillery in Vietnam. I certainly do not like to wear my hearing aids, but if I want to hear anything, it is necessary for me to wear them. My wife always gets very frustrated when I can’t hear her, particularly if I do not have them in my ears. She does not realize that I have a channel called “wife”. One should plug something in their ear and see if they like it. On a more serious note, I am basically deaf as my hearing is shot !
Travel
One thing that Marlene and I did a lot of while living in Washington was travel. This information could just as well have been included in the Travel section, but since we completed the travel during our retirement years, I will include it in both areas. There surely will be overlap between this chapter and the travel section, but that is okay. After all, one cannot travel too much?
We have cruised to Alaska, to Mexico, to the Atlantic Canadian Provinces, to all the Caribbean Islands, to the Baltic Sea area, to the Danube and Rhine River areas, and to Florida through the Panama Canal. We have driven across the country from Port Angeles to Florida twice and to Springfield, Illinois five or six times. The cross country trips to Florida were more than 3000 miles and took 5 ½ half days while the trips to Springfield, Illinois were about 2200 miles and took four days to complete. While that was a lot of driving, we were able to see some beautiful scenery along the way, particularly on I-90 in Idaho and Montana.
In Washington, we took numerous trips with Bob and Judy Stevens, an old friend from my work days at the Illinois Department of Insurance and the Illinois State Police, who lives in Sequim. These trips included the Canadian Rockies, Crater Lake, the Oregon coast, the California redwoods, Mount Saint Helen, the Tetons, and Yellowstone National Park.
One of my favorite destinations was the Canadian Rockies. In my opinion, they are so much more beautiful than our Rockies. On this trip, we drove from Sequim to British Columbia and Alberta with stops in the soaking pools of Radium Hot Springs and in Banff. The Lake Louise area, near Banff, may be some of the most beautiful scenery that I have ever seen. The clear water with the mountains in the background is unbelievable. It was so gorgeous, that I decided to use a picture of that scenery as the headliner for this website. If you ever get a chance to visit Banff and Lake Louise, I will assure you that you will love it just as I did.
After Lake Louise, we continued on to Jasper which is a lovely city in central to northern Alberta. I just love Jasper with its lakes, mountains, and wildlife. It is on my list of favorite destinations. I would like to return one day or possibly take a train trip across the Rockies in Canada. Our trip was a lot of driving, but it was worth it! (I would not want to drive it again at my current age!)
Marlene and I flew to Boston with two more couples from Sequim to take a cruise from Boston to Québec City and back to Boston. We stopped in Bar Harbor, Maine, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland, and Québec City. In my opinion, Prince Edward Island is one of the most beautiful and quaint places that I have ever visited. Of course, we toured the House of Green Gables, which was a highlight of our cruise. After returning home, we watched an eight part series called Ann of Green Gables that we checked out at the Sequim library. That was a very nice 14-day cruise.
Marlene and I like Mexico. Of course, our trips there were prior to all the information about the crime and Mexican drug cartels, that has been reported by the national news, came out. We went to Zihautanejo and Puerto Vallarta numerous times during the early years of our retirement. Both of these villages are located on the Pacific side of Mexico. Zihautanejo is a quiet fishing district located near the Mexican resort area of Ixtapa. It has a very deep, scenic harbor, thus, many cruise ships visit. It has lovely white sand beaches. It of course, has its slums, which we certainly tried to avoid. It however does not have all the trappings of the resort area just seven miles away. As a result of being mentioned as a paradise in the movie, Shawshank Redemption, Zihautanejo has swelled in tourist visits. I really liked visiting that small village.
We particularly liked what was called the romantic district of Puerto Vallarta. Similar to Zihautanejo, the beaches are wonderful. Although, Marlene and I are not sun worshipers, we do enjoy the scenery and the beautiful white sand. Puerto Vallarta has a more city feel to it than Zihautanejo does. We really like the outdoor cafés located along the streets of the city. We stayed in several very interesting hotels in the romantic district. Like Zihautanejo, it had its movie connection. Probably the most famous was The Night of the Iguana with Richard Burton, Ava Gardner, Deborak Kerr, and Sue Lyon. Also, I can remember visiting Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor’s adjoining houses in Puerto Vallarta when we were there. (Actually, their houses were across the street from each other and were connected by a walkway above the street. I think they were always feuding during their time in Puerta Vallarta. When Richard would come home drunk, Liz made him stay in the house across the street.) Richard and Elizabeth were a very interesting pair.
Our Boldest Adventure
In February of 2011, Marlene and I went on our boldest adventure. We went to San Miguel de Allende, Mexico and stayed for 60 days. Not only did Marlene and I create and facilitate a very successful travel blog, I authored a small travel flip book about this journey. In the blog, I took on the persona of Professor Diego Moro and presented lessons about the history, culture, and people of this region. Unfortunately, I no longer have access to that blog as I somehow erased it from the website and I lost the backup when my old laptop suffered the blue screen of death. (I did not have an offline backup (shame, shame on me). I will share an excerpt from the Boldest Adventure travel book in this chapter as well as in the Travel section.
Our Boldest Adventure – So Far
Hola from Mexico! Last January, Glen and Marlene embarked on their greatest adventure so far. We left SeaTac Airport at 11:50 PM and arrived in Leon, Mexico at 11:30 the next day – making certain that we would arrive during the daylight hours! A driver, with a sign with our name on it, met us at the airport. He drove us the remaining 45 – 50 miles over a bumpy road to our new home in San Miguel de Allende. After traveling through the rocky and cactus occupied landscape, we began to ask ourselves, “What have we gotten ourselves into?”
Our new adventure began on January 13th and ended sixty days later on March 14th. Early in our journey, we decided to capture and share the essence of the area with a blog. Marlene was the photographer and Glen served as the techie. San Miguel de Allende is a very old and beautiful colonial city and an international destination. It was named a World Heritage City by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in both 2008 and 2009. This designation covers 64 blocks of the Historic Center of the city. The designation includes among other sites the emblematic church Templo de San Miguel Arcangel (La Parroquia); the Holy House (Santa Casa) of Loreto, a replica of the building of the same name in Loreto, Italy; and the Instituto Allende.
We loved our new home away from home and it was so appropriately named. Casa de Serenidad was so peaceful and serene. Like many Mexican houses, the exterior does not always tell the complete story. One never knows what lies behind those stark, crumbling concrete walls. Behind one gate may be a pile of rubbish, while behind the next gate may be a luxurious hacienda. When one approaches Casa de Serenidad, the first thing that you notice is its striking turquoise color with the huge brown wooden door. Red and pink geraniums filled the window boxes.
Casa de Serenidad had a living room, kitchen-dining area, one bedroom, one bath, a courtyard, and a terrace in the main building. Across the courtyard was a guest suite-media room, one bedroom, and one bathroom. All rooms except the terrace were located on the ground floor.
We opened the door and immediately saw that it was decorated with a wonderful assortment of Mexican art. The property owners are both professional artists from Northern California and the home interior was very tastefully done. Instead of the gaudy colors of some of the Mexican haciendas that one often sees, this casa has more subdued colors. That is not to say the house was not colorful. Compared to U.S. standards, it would be considered bold.
Every day, I discovered artwork that I had not previously seen. Casa de Serenidad had some very unusual architectural features. First, all the ceilings were at least 11 feet high. The ceilings of the kitchen-dining room and second bedroom were even higher. The kitchen-dining room exhibited a barrel boveda style (dome vaulted) ceiling made of inlaid brick that was simply beautiful There also were interesting cupolas in the kitchen, bathroom, dressing room, and guest bedroom. These cupolas were open to the rooms below and let in a lot of light as well as providing architectural interest. Without these cupolas, we would have had a pretty dark home. The cupola in the guest suite was enormous – having 10 windows built into it.
As previously noted, our casa was divided into two wings separated by a 25 by 20 foot courtyard or atrium. The guest suite-TV room was separate from the rest of the house. The courtyard was filled with lush plants. A mature lemon tree grew in the corner of the courtyard The music of the flowing fountain capped off this serene setting. Finally, a winding staircase led to the terrace on the rooftop – a great private place for getting some rays. The view from the terrace reminded us that we still were in the city. Rooftops of the surrounding blocks at differing heights with their cupolas and weather vanes dotted the skyline. This property was lovely.
We truly loved our two months there; however, there were some negatives. We never expected United States standards and were well aware that Mexico is still a developing country which does not possess all of the amenities of its northern neighbor but ….
- We never got used to the cobblestone streets and narrow sidewalks. They are a killer on the back and other joints.
- Taking a shower was an adventure. On the first day, a faucet handle became loose and sprayed water everywhere. One week later, the hose connecting the shower head to the water pipe coming from the wall split and sprayed water everywhere. The water temperature and water pressure were inconsistent.
- Unlike like other Mexico tourist cities, we noted that the locals in San Miguel speak and understand little English. We surmise that is because San Miguel does not necessarily consider itself a tourist town although it certainly relies on the visitors’ dollars. (That is more our problem than theirs as we do not speak Spanish!)
- Our maid washed everything in sight. My lounging pajamas were apparently not made to be washed and dried twice weekly. What was once full length pants became pedal pushers. We had to hide anything that we did not want washed. (God bless Cecelia!)
- We watched very little TV as our TV room was across our courtyard. I guess we were just too lazy to walk the twenty-five steps to the room. We generally followed the news via the internet.
- After dark, the lighting was less than desirable. Due to the high ceilings, our casa was very difficult to illuminate at night. We only had minimal track lighting and a couple of lamps. We could have used more lamps. With all the cupolas and skylights, there was no problem with lighting during daylight hours.
- I really missed my easy chair.
Despite the negatives, we absolutely loved our casa. It was a very pleasant place to live.
The centerpiece of San Miguel de Allende is the el Jardin. It occupies a square city block and is the family social center for San Miguel activities. It is a tree-lined plaza with perfectly groomed trees. The foliage on the trees is trimmed so that it is circular on the sides and flat on the top and bottom. (At a nearby plaza, the foliage is trimmed so that it is cube-shaped.) Next to the row of trees, there is a plethora of flora including lavender. A large gazebo is located in the center of the plaza. There is a walkway that completely encircles the plaza. Metal benches line both sides of the walkway. All and all, the el Jardin was a very serene and inviting environment where we spent a lot of time.
At the el Jardin, we could not help but marvel at God’s creation and the magnificent architectural details in several of the buildings surrounding the plaza. Adding to the charm, policemen on horseback wearing very colorful, colonial Mexican uniforms, rode by every few minutes..
The crown jewel of San Miguel is located across the street from the Jardin. It is called La Parroquia, a beautiful pseudogothic style cathedral of world renown. It was built centuries ago. The church was built from drawings that the architect scratched in the dirt. Not once did we fear far our safety while in San Miguel. Of course, we stayed clear of places where we thought danger could exist.
Our two months living in Mexico will always be treasured, but, at this time, neither of us have a desire to return. The United States of America is still the greatest country in the universe and there are too many lovely places in this country that we have yet to. visit. Enjoy the photos!
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Winters in Florida
I mentioned earlier that the winter days in Port Angeles could be dreary. After eight dreary winters in Washington, we decided that we would add the word ‘snowbird’ to our retirement portfolio. Marlene and her sister had spent time with her brother in Bradenton Beach, Florida, in the spring for several years. In early 2011, she asked if I would ever consider spending a winter in Florida and I replied that I was game. On her annual trip to visit her brother that spring, she found a nice mobile home park with great amenities that rented homes for six months.
We rented a mobile home for six months from October 2011 through March 2012. We arrived at our rental at Tropical Palms in Bradenton, Florida, on Thanksgiving Day of 2011. Our more than four-month stay that first year turned out well, but I had a medical issue that I had to take care of when I returned to Port Angeles. I had suffered throughout our Florida stay with an aggravating back discomfort. It turned out that I had kidney stones and they really got worse during the summer. I went to the urologist who immediately recommended lithotripsy. When the lithotripsy procedure did not work, I was sent to a nephrologist and surgeon in Seattle. He determined that I needed to have microscopic back surgery in September of 2012 to remove the stones. I recuperated during the remainder of 2012 and was cleared to travel in January of 2013.
We were able to rent a very nice, but too expensive, condo from early February to early April of 2013. While we were at this rental, we concluded that renting made very little sense and made the decision to begin a search for property to purchase in the Bradenton area. We found a single level condo in a nice development with a small lake at a nice location that we really liked. We purchased and closed on our current condominium on April 1, 2013. We have lived in that condominium in the winter months ever since 2013.
Bradenton is a very nice town of about 60,000. In the winter, the population swells to almost 100,000. It is close to Sarasota and actually shares the Sarasota-Bradenton Airport. The city is located about 40 miles south of Tampa and is about 50 minutes to the Tampa International Airport. We are located about six miles from the beaches of Anna Marie Island. Our city is very nice and relatively easy to drive in.
We do like Bradenton and our condominium complex. The common area of our complex is very well maintained and the lake is stocked with fish. We like our neighbors and have a lot of social interaction and activities. We think that we have found a winner in Bradenton!
Back in Illinois
Missing our family, we made the difficult decision in the spring of 2016 to return to Springfield, Illinois, in the following year. After returning from Florida in April of 2016, we spent the summer getting rid of a lot of furniture, taking unwanted items to Goodwill, and sprucing up our home. Our plan was to drive to Springfield in May of 2017 and purchase a new home. Of course, we could not sell our home in Port Angeles until we were close to moving out of it. It turned out to be an interesting experience as we owned three homes from June 29, 2017 through November 30, 2017. Fortunately, we sold the Port Angeles home and closed on it before December of 2017.
About two weeks after returning from Florida to Port Angeles in 2017, Marlene and I made the four-day drive to Illinois in my Kia Optima and left it parked at Marlene’s daughter’s house in Springfield for the two months preceding our move there. After spending two days looking at homes in Springfield, we selected our current west-side home in early May and had a closing date on the last day of June.
We found a home that we liked that was in a great location. We were looking for a 2-3 bedroom home. We wanted to significantly downsize, but still have a place for storage. We wanted to have everything located on one level. We were able to meet all those objectives with our purchase. Our new home was a three bedroom ranch with approximately 1900 square feet and had a basement for storage. We were very happy campers!
After flying back to Washington, we had little time to get all our things in order. The most important things were putting our Port Angeles house on the market; getting rid of more furniture now that we knew the room configuration and room dimensions of our new home In Springfield; closing out some financial and utility service accounts; and arranging for a moving van to move us. Finally, we had to think about packing our things for the move. Perhaps, the hardest thing to do was leaving our beautiful home and the Sequim-Port Angeles area and saying our goodbyes to all our northwest Washington friends.
Everything went as planned. We left Port Angeles two days after the moving van left with our furniture. We loaded Marlene’s Honda CRV to the brim with a few personal items and began our eastward journey. We stopped to visit Marlene’s sister in Coon Rapids, Iowa. and spent the night. We arrived in Springfield on June 27th expecting to close on our new home on June 30th. After our arrival in Springfield three days prior to our scheduled closing date, we received a call asking if we would like to close one day early and we agreed. We were in our new house, but had no furniture for about four days. I think the furniture did not arrive until July 2nd. (We were getting nervous about the furniture getting delayed due to the upcoming holiday, but, as it turned out, it arrived as scheduled.) I do not recommend making a habit of sleeping on skinny air mattresses – particularly, if they do not hold air very well.
After our return to Springfield, we began visiting churches near us. We found one on Koke Mill Road that we really liked. It is called Koke Mill Christian Church and that is the church that we still attend. We really love the pastor and his wife. We really love our location in Springfield as it is close to all the usual stores. In Port Angeles, there were very few places to shop, thus, we had to drive about 40 or 50 miles to Silverdale.
We both have attained good primary care doctors. I also have established a relationship with a nephrologist and dermatologist in Springfield. I still have my problems with psoriasis which I now am controlling relatively well with a biologic drug called Cosentyx. It is outrageously priced and, without my good insurance, I would not even consider it. It is a remarkable drug that has worked extremely well for me. With Cosentyx, I self administer two injections by sensi-pen each month.
It has been fun re-establishing relationships with some old friends. I would have thought that I would run into more familiar faces than I have. It could be that I just do not recognize them anymore. Yes, we all are getting older. We have really enjoyed our west Springfield location and the plethora of shopping opportunities nearby. We had to readjust to the hotter summer weather that the Midwest offers. I do not think that we ever realized how isolated from everything that we actually were when we lived in Port Angeles. Maybe that was a good thing as we were more appreciative of the perfect summer weather and the natural beauty of that area. We certainly do not regret our 13 years of living in the Great Northwest; however, things are going great and we really like living in Springfield.
We have truly enjoyed almost every moment of our retirement since January 31, 2004. Of course, I am not including health issues and deaths in this generalization. Marlene and I have been able to travel extensively. As long as our health holds up, we plan to keep on going places. I do really enjoy the freedom that I now have each day to do what I want. I have always enjoyed sitting in front of my laptop. At least, I can say that I exercise my brain every day. We do not ever have to endure nasty weather as we still go from our home in Springfield to our condo in Florida based on the season.
In retirement, I have really spread my wings and have opened myself to new horizons and have done things and gone places that I would never have dreamed of going. I married a traveler, a curious explorer, and a doer! She is not the homebody that I am or at least used to be. Life is good and God is great I can only conclude that retirement is grand.