Zodiac Signs and Whether We Believe Them.

Have you ever wondered how close your actual lifestyle and temperament relates to the sign you were born under. Below are two signs – namely Scorpio and Sagittarius (I refer to both because Scorpio runs through the 21^st  while Sagittarius begins on the 22nd and my birth date is the 25th of November). Yes, I have the dubious honor of celebrating my birthday on Thanksgiving every couple of years.

Scorpio – The Scorpion
October 23 – November 21
The Scorpio is often misunderstood. These personalities are bold and are capable of executing massive enterprises with cool control and confidence. They can surmount seemingly all obstacles when they put their mind to the task, and they have unshakable focus when the situation calls for it. Regardless of their bold nature, they are often secretive, but they are always observing behind their withdrawn manner. Being associated with a solar animal, the scorpion, they are not withdrawn for long, and when they come out again they do so with force, vigor and determination. It is true, Scorpio’s can be argumentative and pack a powerful sting, but that’s simply because they see all opposition as a healthy challenge.

Sagittarius – The Centaur
November 22 – December 21
Here we have the philosopher among the zodiac signs and meanings. Like the Scorpio, they have great ability for focus, and can be very intense. However, they must channel their energy or they will waste time and wear themselves out going in too many directions at once. They are not very patient and expect quick results. However, when encountered with failure they make extreme comeback’s often against incredible odds. They make loyal friends and lovers, but they do not handle commitment well as they refuse to be tied down while chasing philosophical pursuits.

While I am not a follower of Zodiac signs, at times I must admit that I have often wondered whether my sign was truly Sagittarius – The Centaur or Scorpio – The Scorpion. I say this because in looking at both readings shown above, at times I believe I have some of the traits of a Scorpio.

Looking at Sagittarius – I do tend to be more of a philosopher and when I put my mind to it, as evidenced by some of my past accomplishments, I have a great ability for focusing. I am sure my wife will also attest that I can be very intense at times as well. It is also true that I do find myself making a sincere effort to channel my energy else I waste time and wear myself out going in too many directions at one time. I am not too sure about the comments regarding commitment (my wife and I are celebrating 52 years of marriage this year). But I do agree with the comments that Sagittarian’s make loyal friends and lovers.

A Scorpio on the other hand though can surmount seemingly all obstacles when he or she puts their mind to the task. It has been said of Scorpios that when encountered with failure, Scorpios make extreme comeback’s often against incredible odds. This too has been evident in past happenings. Happenings such as the many physical moves we have made over the years; the number of years it took me to achieve my CPCU designation; and the overcoming of the various side effects I encountered back in 2004 and since then related to three different surgeries within a five month period..

Perhaps, I should just look at myself as a combination Scorpio/Sagittarius when claiming what sign I fall under as it would appear it is quite possible that I have the best of both worlds being a bit of each. I am what I am!

Until next time!

What Next? – The Future?

As we get older, one begins to wonder where and how the balance of our lives will play out. While many of us would like to remain in close proximity to our children, how many of us actually feel that they would want to take on the added responsibility of caring for us when we truly get into those twilight years. While it is true, for the most part, my wife and I are still quite able to fend for ourselves (as evidenced by the unusually long trip we took last year), we too, wonder what we will do – say ten years from now when we are octogenarians.

Let’s face it, depending upon the residence and surroundings one lives in, the ideal place would be to stay put. In our case, however, that has been the subject of debate for quite a long time now. Unfortunately when we purchased the house we are presently in, we were looking at size as we were down-sizing but didn’t want to part with too much of our past. Long story short, the house fit the needs but the house did not truly fit the desires of the home we would have liked to end up in.

We have this vision of being in a house that backs up to a reserve, if you will, that will enable us to sit and have our morning coffee while looking at the forest and/or wildlife that may be scampering about shortly after daybreak. Or perhaps a house that has a view of the ocean, river, or lake so that we might sit having our morning coffee listening to the waves slap gently upon the shore. These are but a few of the amenities we had on our list of things our next house must have when we moved to where we are now and I am sad to say, that while the house might meet our needs in other ways, it does not meet the needs we were looking forward to when we begin to slow down physically.

True, there is the possibility that we could find such an ideal home as a rental (could even be a rental apartment versus a home) but having been homeowners for the majority of our adult lives, do we want to give up that control we have been so used to for fifty plus years now? Decisions, decisions, decisions! Even in retirement, certain decisions tend to haunt us and create havoc in what one would have hoped would be a stress-free environment. But then – what might cause stress in one environment can actually spark new life into others (my wife loves to pack up and move). I swear I married a gypsy but then her parents moved every two to three years when she was a kid – so I have come to accept it as a way of life (last count, we ourselves have moved more than twenty times in our married life).

So, the moral of this story is that you are only as young as you feel and even in retirement, life can be truly exciting. Especially when the idea you might be tossing around involves picking up and moving to another location – one more conducive to the lifestyle you had in mind when it came to what and how you intended to spend your retirement years!

Think about it – gotta admit – the thought of picking up and moving does sound challenging – doesn’t it? Does that mean we have not been put out to pasture just yet? Who knows? Stay tuned.

What a Ride!

For those of you that tend to read various blogs on a daily or possibly weekly basis, I am sure chances are you will find that most blogs today – leastways when it comes to seniors and retirement – are written by females. While I am pretty certain that the reason for this is the fact that there are more elder women than men, I would go one step further and say that for whatever reason, women are more apt to set up a blog so that they can say what is on their minds – which good, bad, or indifferent – is something we men don’t do as well. Some of us that is.

I have noticed this at some of the gatherings we have here within the community that I live. For the most part, on Saturday morning coffee get-togethers and/or on game night, women tend to outnumber the men quite often. I am pretty sure that is because women usually outlive us men and as a result there more widows around than single men.

Some would say that men that have reached the age of seventy or above tend to fall apart whereas women go right on with whatever activities they usually do, if for no other reason, than to get through the day. I would have to disagree with this analogy. In many cases it is merely a difference of what activities men enjoy versus the activities women enjoy. True, some men might enjoy a game of bridge (which women seem to love) but for the most part, I am certain that there are many men that would prefer piddling in their garage and/or workshop occupying their hands and time building something or tearing something apart to see what makes it ticks. I doubt seriously that many women in their seventies or older would get a kick out of such activities.

In addition, while many women look forward to the luncheons they attend together (Red Hat Luncheons come to mind), men have similar outings such as when a group of them get together for either lunch or a dinner get-together. And let us not forget golfing several days a week although within our community we have men’s teams, women’s teams, and mixed teams. Fact of the matter is that depending on the community involved, I would have to say that both groups make it a point to stay involved with various social gatherings.

Staying involved or engaged with others our age during retirement provides a meaningful relationship for those of us no longer abiding by the 9-5 regimen a full-time job provided us with. While it would appear that women do this better than men as we get older, fact is that retirement is what we – those of us that are retired – make of it. Spending time socially is equally important for both sexes as we take this journey called “retirement.”

It may be true that we no longer have the camaraderie of the workplace once we leave it but our social circle of friends within the community we chose to live out our retirement years is an excellent place to create new friends thus developing a camaraderie of individuals seeking the same thing we are which should be to have fun, develop, albeit newer, relationships that hopefully will become lasting relationships, become more open-minded, and look forward to serving our community (we may be old but we are not dead).

This is the time for us to explore our interests we did not have time for when working and raising a family; or now that we are forging new friendships, perhaps we could try more exhilarating new interests with other members of the community.

Remember this is our life and we should keep the following in mind when thinking about how we want to spend our final years now that we are retired:

Life is not a journey to the grave
With the intention of
Arriving safely in a pretty
And well preserved body,
But rather to skid in broadside,
Thoroughly used up,
Totally worn out,
And loudly proclaiming,

WOW !!!! What a ride!

Until next time!