Life During Retirement

We live on a golf course, so there is obviously time spent golfing. For Dave that is, not for me. I’ve been to the driving range and the putting green a couple of times, and I just can’t get into it. The time between hitting each ball is too long. But Dave is into it. Our neighbor Fred, whom Dave became friends with shortly after we moved in, got Dave involved in a group that golfs Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, though he usually only golfs two of those days (because, see below). When he gets back from his 18 holes, he gives me a rundown of how he did on each of the holes as well as what he had for lunch, what others had for lunch, and what everyone had to say at lunch. 

In addition to those two rounds of 18 holes, Dave had been going for “free golf” with my brother Dave most evenings. After these outings, I hear about the recommendations my brother has made to him. For instance, the placement of the ball with respect to his front or back foot. I also hear about the golfing tips he has gathered online. And how things are going for him at the driving range and the putting green. He is crushing the ball because of some tip having to do with the pituitary gland. Or something like that. I have no idea. 

For me, there is tennis. I play six days a week at least and sometimes twice a day. I can’t get enough. When I wake up at night, I often think about positioning, shot selection, and technique. As I’ve mentioned before, I am on a team where we play in matches. My record isn’t very good this year. In fact, it’s pretty awful. But I am driven to get better. When I get back from tennis, Dave asks me for details. I don’t have any. I forget them as soon as I leave the court. Sometimes I forget them before I leave. The only thing that remains with me is a sense of whether or not it was good tennis.

Dave has also picked up tennis. We were walking one evening and ran into someone I played tennis with once (Darci) and her husband (Dave). After a few minutes of chatting, Dave invited Dave to play with a Tuesday evening men’s group. When Dave gets back after playing, I get a full report on how the games went and how everyone did and who drank what after.

After playing a few Tuesdays, another guy in the group (Mike) asked Dave if we wanted to play in a mixed doubles group on Sunday mornings. As partners, we got off to a rough start. I was trying to calmly point out the strategy of the game to him, and he was getting more and more flustered. He didn’t understand some of the terminology I was using. So I finally yelled at him to stop running around like a chicken with his head cut off and let me get some of the balls. After that, I organized doubles lessons for the two of us. We have gotten much better as partners. 

We got hooked on pickleball up in Methuen since we didn’t have easy access to decent tennis courts up there. I was reluctant to pick it up because I always thought it looked a bit ridiculous. But it was fun! When Dave mentioned to Mike that we played pickleball up in Methuen, Mike invited us to play in a group down here. Now I am carving out more time for it, and it is starting to compete with my tennis time.  Come to think of it, it’s actually just competing with time to get anything productive done. We are now on a pickleball team. We got crushed in our first match. Dave and I are again experiencing a learning curve where we are struggling as partners. After one particularly flawed play, a teammate told us “You guys aren’t on the same page.” Dave gets frustrated with his level of play and often uses “we” when criticizing that play. That never goes over well with me. So now we are taking pickleball lessons.

It’s not all fun and games. Because of the fun and games, there are aches and pains. For a while, we didn’t have enough cold packs on hand to apply to all the aches and pains. Dave has been to PT many times for his shoulder and hip. I’ve been to an orthopedist for my knee. In addition to his complaints of general soreness after a day of activity, he has also complained about a spot on his cheek, flashes in his eye, and his arm pits. Every morning I get a new update on the current state of his health. He always lets me know the exercises the PT folks put him through, and he provided me with the details of his visit to the ophthalmologist. He did ask me for the details of my mamogram upon my return from there. I declined to give them to him.

Our nest is not empty. We have the dog. Her pricy transport down was quite successful – we had some stranger drive her down. She is on arthritis medication, thyroid medication, and an increased dosage of medication for Cushing’s disease. We thought the increased medication was causing her GI problems – she stopped eating and pooping for a few days. Dave brought her to the vet here, but I think she naturally worked past her problems. The blood tests showed all her levels are fine. And the vet gave us special shampoo to deal with the yeast on her skin which is causing a smell. She also pees in the laundry room at night – on a pee pad (usually).

We do sometimes socialize off the tennis court, pickleball court, or golf course. I’ve gone walking with my friend Barb – but only because she is injured and can’t play tennis right now. And there have been times we’ve made it to restaurants. With Dave’s friend Fred and his wife April. And with Dave’s friend Mike and his wife Sue. And with some pickleball players from Methuen who happened to be down here.

All the kids are coming for a few days next week. I will cook up the turkey I won at the Thanksgiving tournament playing a point against JT (our pro). I had planned on going to Costco today in preparation for their visit, but I forgot. We had a doubles tennis lesson this morning, and I was going to go after that, but I watched the D5 tennis match. And this afternoon we have pickleball training.

I can’t wait to get Caleb in the pool. I bought a Pack-n-Play for him, and I had the dog transporter bring down a small highchair. We will be celebrating his birthday a little early, and I have some toys wrapped up for him. And I’ve arranged for a family pickleball lesson.

Sue and Jo will be here in March when Sue will have a number of restaurants lined up. But maybe I can fit in a pickleball lesson for us while they are here as well.