Saturday, April 14, 2012

I am sitting in my own living room, typing this on my own Mac for the first time since, well, since the last time! This was not a planned home visit; as with many things in trucking, things can change. The delivery I have was delayed until tomorrow night, so I took the opportunity to "visit" my house, use some of my own hot water, and do my laundry! The only uncomfortable part is having to drop the trailer with a load of pretty expensive dairy products and a minus 10 temperature set on the reefer in a Walmart parking lot 16 miles away. I locked the box, put on a glad-hand and king pin locks, but there's nothing I could do about locking the reefer thermostat, so if some creep wants to crank it up to 40 or so, well, I can't stop him or her. Hopefully, however, the Walmart parking lot security crew will keep an eye out for nefarious goings on.

As I walked into my house, I came to the realization that I like my house. I like my living room and dining room and lawn and I even like the duck that has made a nest in the decorative row boat in my back yard. What that means is this: You, dear reader, probably remember that I retired from federal service last December and have undertaken this "career change" to check of an item on my personal 'bucket list.' I received a commercial driver's license and have been working as an over-the-road driver, which is all I really wanted to do. There are other things on my bucket list, too, including a visit to my deceased parents' hometown, Wilton, New Hampshire.

The bottom line is I don't know how much longer I will do this. There are some compelling reasons not to push my own good humor, not the least of which is the fact that I don't get to see my kids as much as I want, even though I've only been at this a short while. I am getting older and since I do have a very secure pension - well, as secure as anything created by Congress can be - I will drive as long as I want then turn my sites elsewhere.

That, dear reader, is what retirement is all about. Do the kind of work you want to do, as long as it's "fun," then do something else when it's no longer "fun!"