The Next Chapter Begins

The past 2 weeks have been the most relaxing since we went on a vacation to Taos New Mexico ten years ago. Retirement has been fabulous thus far. We haven’t done anything outrageous, or gone on any elaborate trips, yet a calm has arrived since I no longer have to get up before dawn and head off to work.

For those of you wondering, I have been working for the United States Postal Service for over eleven years. As a kid I often went to work with my Grandmother when she worked in a tiny post office in rural Pennsylvania. Those were the days when the clerks simply put those important letters into your mailbox or you picked up a package from your Aunt Irma. Gram retired after 20 something years at the post office.

Delivering the mail was something I had always wanted to do. Just not when we were living in a big city. Then we moved to the country. Rural life and the idea of getting to know neighbors and customers appealed to my desire to serve. So after a brief time as a postal clerk, my job as a rural carrier came through. One rarely just walks into the job of their dreams.It took a couple of years to climb the ladder of seniority, eventually everything fell into place and I was assigned my own route.

For those of you that have a distaste for the post office, it is a hard job. So when you arrive at the counter to purchase stamps or proceed with a transaction, know that the hours are long, and customer service is the hardest job in the world. Few people have the patience it takes to deal with the public on a daily basis. Humans are surprisingly ingenious when it comes to monetary transactions. There are women that pay with bills that have been stuffed in their bras or other private areas. Men’s shoes or boots, socks or hats. No money at all, can’t read, want service for free. Or people needing a bath really really badly. Kind people too, most of them. It is unfortunate that we tend to remember only the negative and not so much the positive.

For myself the job was great for a few years. It gave me an opportunity to interact personally with people whom I certainly would never have gotten to know. Good, kind people. Some that would rather shoot me than see me coming.
The final straw though was Amazon’s contract, that postal employees deliver dog food, trolling motors, automobile tires, animal traps, brake parts, bar bells, cat litter and more. Now, you may think me crazy, but when I signed up at the post office it was to deliver mail, to be the eyes and ears of our community and to be of service to my fellow citizens. This body was not meant to sling huge boxes of diapers, baby food, cat litter or turkey fryers. So the passage of time combined with less people shopping brick and mortar stores has helped me come to terms with my physical limitations. The thing is I still loved my job, but it didn’t love me. When the day ends after ten hours and passing out on the couch right after dinner becomes a regular ordeal, it is time to re-evaluate the quality of our existence.

So count me happy to be moving on to the third stage of monetary income. I am now a taker. Not an easy existence for someone that has been working since the age of 14 years old. Not exactly what I thought would happen as a teenager. My aspirations were higher, my dreams bigger, what ever happened to “that” person? No doubt others on here have had similar experiences when looking back. Sometimes the world defines us, not the other way around. Life has this way of softly shaping the sharp edges of our personalities and giving us a truer reflection of who or what we are meant to be.

At this stage of my life I am supposed to know better than to do dumb things like get a sunburn, or eat so many salted peanuts that my stomach is in a knot for 2 days. Who cares? None of this matters any more. Now it’s the little things, like making sure Lola the Boxer dog is happy or the chickens lay a bountiful basket of eggs, the garden is kept and the car is in good shape so we can make a hasty getaway should we desire.

There are still some adventures left in me. Yet I have seen a lot, done some things, had a bit of fun. If nothing more happens on this trip, called life, then truthfully, it has all been more than I could anticipate. Better than my wildest dreams. My imagination could not have been this vivid.