It's been two weeks now and people seem surprised that the first retiree is content.
The first argument we had was about a "honey-do" list that people at his work were teasing him about. I said that's a very sexist term that I would have no part of. He has eyes, can look around and decide what tasks he's going to do/prioritize. We'll continue on the "person who is driven nuts first does the task" schedule.
Stepping back - when we lived in Calgary and had similar hours, we divided up the household tasks in terms of time taken and what we hate the least. When we moved and I didn't have a job, the chores mostly defaulted to me. I kept up a lot of them after we moved here because I finished work a couple hours before him.
Now I have to admire the winter routine he's created. He rarely wants the Macan right now (I'm sure that will change with the season) so he only occasionally drives me to work. Otherwise he catches up with what's going on in the world, exercises (I couldn't be that disciplined), cooks then does chore or not. I always thought he was just too tired to prioritize inessentials around the house and it's turned out to be true. Hopefully we'll be able to move somewhere with more outside year around weather.
Wow, you guys sound so much like us, except Rochelle doesn't work. The difference there is that I tell Rochelle that I'd rather come home to a messy & happy house than a spotless but grumpy house after work. So while she does most of the necessary chores (preparing food is a major one), she never feels like I'm a drill sergeant. I mean, no one says, "I should have cleaned the house more," on their deathbed.
ReplyDeleteBut anyway, from what I've observed, i'd say you folks are quite out-doorsy, at least when the weather isn't oppressive, so it seems very logical to me that it would be a goal to live somewhere where the weather is more conducive to outdoor activities.
I know what it's like to feel tired, though, so I sympathize with him. Sometimes I can't even figure out why I'm tired. I have a sleep tracking wathch now, so that does explain it sometimes (apparently I often have very broken sleep), but it's more than that. Definitely the weather, and definitely feeling like I shouldn't be spending on something (even for home repairs or other logical expenditures). It's a weird feeling. When that stuff gets me, I end up just vegetating instead of being active. I'm afraid that might be my problem when I decide to retire, despite having numerous interesting hobbies.
I wouldn't worry about vegging. I think an inordinate amount of vegging is from work fatigue. You work shifts and Fred worked randomly long hours on projects.
ReplyDeleteAnd yeah, we decided a long time ago that cleaning sucks so...whoever it drives crazy gets to do it.
Cass Morrison hehe, that's what Rochelle says, too, that it has to do with shift work & stuff. There's proof, too ... When I've been off work for about 5 days, I start getting the bug to do something, so ... Since I'm on vacation right now, and today is day 5, I'm building a hutch/buffet for our dining area. I started yesterday afternoon.
ReplyDeleteAnd yeah, cleaning is the same, whoever is annoyed first. Of course, first step is to evaluate whether the kids have been pulling their weight, and if not the job gets delegated haha. Assuming we don't mind that the quality of work will be questionable, haha!