JUST THUNKIN!

Lot's of stuff going on in our humble abode.

Some of it is reminiscient of Marjorie Main's line in one of the Ma & Pa Kettle movies, previously alluded to in an earlier blog.

When Ma was asked by one of her litter as to what Pa was doing sitting in a rocker over in the corner and smoking his pipe, she replied: "Pa's thunkin - that's what he's doing - just thunkin."

I've been doing a lot of that myself.

We have a lot on our plate now that "Da Wife" has made a decision to "retire" on June 30. She's burned out - and deservedly so. She works hard. However, I think I hear words like "consulting" as I pass her office and she's on the phone with her boss.

I had taken early retirement in a previous century and then returned to work life at the request of my wife. She asked me to assist her part-time in setting up a new department for which she'd be the boss.

It was a good decision and we worked well together as my part-time job quickly turned into 3 years of working 4 or 5 days a week.

I worked more for her than with her; although she will deny that. And yeah, I did kind of get a chuckle or two when reflecting that I was sleeping with the boss - and it was okay.

Now, the three of us are about to embark upon a new journey - and we're not sure where it will eventually take us.

I'm the more laid back part of this partnership and my wife is a doer. An effective compromise might be me "unretiring" again and learning to say, "Welcome to Wal-Mart." - several thousand times a day"- just so I stay out of her hair.

Over four years ago, we moved here full-time from my wife's hometown of Harrisburg, Pa. in Central Pa.

We had accumulated two houses worth of furniture, paintings, and the normal junk. We sold or gave away almost everything we had accumulated and downsized with a loud bang.

It was the right decision. We have found much to like in Florida. My wife's job is portable. Her office is a converted bedroom with all the office accoutrements.

The irony is that now we are seriously considering a move back to Pennsylvania - but, this time to the western part of the state.

While we like Florida, there have been a lot of changes which have taken place and this little community no longer provides the same comfort level it once did.

In addition, we're getting older and have had to adjust to pollen levels and other allergens that are off the chart some days.

It's also true that the summer heat down here on the beautiful Gulf side of Florida can be 'a bear'. And yeah, I did hear stories about the Summer humidity in Pittsburgh - but it's different.

That's what makes so much of this a true adventure. We don't know where we're going or where we'll end up, but, we're making great time.

Ultimately, we're just a couple of seniors who are looking at both the quantity and quality of life.That means pursuing a life with good health if and when we can do something to encourage that.

What will come of it - we're not quite sure. We've made arrangements to stay up in a Pittsburgh apartment for a few months- just long enough to try to re-learn climbing stairs.

Quite frankly, we are looking forward to going up there,spending time with family, and using Pittsburgh as a command post to do some travelling.

How much "visiting by us" the kids can handle and how many soccer games we can attend is up for grabs.

I love our kids but, have often said in the past that when someone in the family expels flatus another family member will immediately shout, "Okay, let's have a party!"

It is truly a great family. However, as warned by a close friend down here, Pap's been retired from the party routine for some time now and may occasionally have to mail in his appearance.

We don't want our decision to head up north, even temporarily, to be an interruption or a schedulling challenge for the kids.They've worked hard to build the life they enjoy.

The kids appear to be enthused about our plans and have even previewed various real estate listings for us up there; should we decide to spend the bulk of our time back north.

Oh well, I always was a dedicated fan of St.Vincent DePaul.

We have made one conclusive joint decision - no living in snow! Bella, the 2.7 lb Chihuahua heartily agrees.

Eventually, we will seriously consider long term plans, but, like Steeler coach Mike Tomlin's philosophy; we're sort of taking it "one game at a time.".

I guess you could say, "For now, we're "just thunkin."