Since I retired a couple of months ago, it finally hit me why Debbie insisted all these years I learn her method of making a bed, dusting, vacuuming, putting in fabric softener into the washer, folding laundry a certain way and all the things that she did which I basically took for granted. It was now my turn to take those duties over. Not what I had planned to do while I was trying to figure out what retirement was all about. Her thirty five year plan was now starting to pay off. Even when I was working, I believed in helping around the house. My thought was that I lived there also, and it wasn't fair to her to have to do all of the housework or cook nightly dinners while I sat on my ass and watched t.v. I jumped in and tried to help out the best I could so she could also have her down time. It never occurred to me that once I retired I was going to be a 'House Husband', doing pretty much everything. Believe me, I don't mind doing it, because she gets up early to teach the Three R's.......Raping, Robbery and Rehilbitation to the future inmates of Jackson Prison. I'm actually happy that she can come home after teaching to a clean home with dinner on the stove. But, there's gotta more to retirement than this crap.
Since my back injury, I have had to make some major life adjustments and cut out several things I really enjoy doing, or at least limit them. At times when the pain was tolorable, I thought that I could go right back to doing it 100% like before, but would end up in more pain than ever. What once would take me maybe an hour to do, was now easily taking me a day or longer to accomplish, with a nap or two thrown in. Until recently, I used to get upset about this, but with the help of my new Sports Psychologist, I have come to crips with the knowledge that due to this injury, I'm going to have to pace myself on most things and this is now how I have to live my life. So, I've decided to find some new hobbies to occcupy my time.
When we had the tornado come through our area last year wiping out 99% of our landscaping, I thought that I would really enjoy growing flowers and plants from seed. It also could have been because Debbie went back out and purchased about $500 worth of plants to replace what was destroyed, so it looked like we did have some plant life for my 60th birthday party. Since I won't be able to purchase a greenhouse this year, I thought I would jump right in with both feet and start growing some plant life in the basement. With the help of The Greenhouse Gardener's Companion which Joe and Mona bought me for my birthday, and The Complete Book of Plant Propagation, a Christmas gift from Deb, I was in plant heaven and counting the days until the last frost date in Michigan, which by the way is May 31st if anyone is interested.
I left the plant selection in Deb's capable hands, and she returned one day with a varity of plant seeds, Sanpdragons, Hollyhock, Purple Coneflower, Cosmos, Bachelor Button and Coleus, just to name a few varities. She also purchased tomato seeds and Sun Flower seeds to run a boarder along the driveway (maybe).
After reading the correct method of soil moistness and enrichments, I started planting the Sun Flower seeds. I had read that Sun Flowers do not like to be transplanted, so I had to purchase some bio-degradable pots to put directly into the ground after the fear of frost had ended.
Taking a break if you can call cooking dinner for Debbie while she knitted a break, Jennifer called and ask what I was doing. I told her I was planting my flower seeds and she informed me that I turning into a Girly Man and needed to find a more manly hobby. I told her that there was nothing faggish about a man gardening and she said, "Dad, you used to own a bakery also." I didn't know that baking wasn't a manly thing to do either.
So call me names, I don't care. She just cut herself out of getting one of my Terra Cotta saucer and pot water feature with plants that her Old Man grew himself. Guess what Jennifer???? I'm going to teach my new grandson the art of growing flowers and baking.
Horticulturely speaking,
Me
