Wednesday night I met with the ladies at the Olive Garden in Orange City, FL for my first "night out" in three years since I retired and moved to Murphy. Six of us remain in our circle of friends.........all of us teachers. Over the years as the time was right, someone in our circle was able to retire from the school system. Those of us who had to continue awakening with the alarm, making lesson plans, correcting papers, coping with a classroom full of varying personalities and needs, and sitting through dreaded droning faculty meetings watched the transformation of our retired sisters. Their baggy eyes were rejuvenated, wrinkles and scowl lines melted away, and their spines supported them upright again! This June the 5th of our 6 will close the door to her classroom, turn her responsibilities over to a new person, and join the ranks of us who have released our tensions and now sip morning coffee with no time restraints.
Some days are full of doing tasks and chores that Cliff did for me. The floor wasn't that dirty but he enjoyed saying. "Guess I need to pull out the vacuum. I'm tripping over debris." I thanked him. Whenever I was in the kitchen trying out new recipes, making cookies or the double batch tapioca pudding for him, he was there beside (getting in my way sometimes) washing the utensils, pots/pans, cutting boards, drying them and putting everything back in their proper places only to have me take some things back out and reuse again. "I just washed that" he would state. He learned to ask if I were through with things before he cleaned up after me. I thanked him. He emptied the dishwasher when it was finished in such an orderly manner (getting in my way sometimes because I was also in the kitchen working but he wanted to be there with me). I thanked him. Every morning he made my bed reminding me of the order that the pillows needed to be placed. John&
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