It is hard to believe that today ends my first month of retirement, and the month has flown by. I must admit that I was initially worried that the days would drag by, but that has certainly not been the case. When I decided that I was going to retire, it was because I wanted to spend more time with family and friends, try new things, and determine who I was going to be in the next phase of my life, and I think I am off to a good start on meeting those goals.

I must start with the biggest news of this month: my second granddaughter arrived, and she is beautiful.
She has kept her mom and dad busy with all her demands, but I believe they have loved every minute of the last few weeks. My daughter and son-in-law have done a great job sharing pictures and stories of their daily adventures. I cannot wait to meet this little sweetheart and spoil her. Ironically, my oldest granddaughter is also a Libra.

Speaking of my oldest granddaughter, she turned 10 in October, which in 2023 is the new 13 or 15, at least for girls. She lives 4 + hours away, so seeing her when working was difficult. This month, because of my retirement schedule, I have been fortunate enough to see her twice, and I was finally able to see her play softball. A shoutout to her and her team for capturing the championship rings this season. This was the first time I had seen rings given out instead of trophies. I am obviously behind the times in this area. As a bonus, I got to see her mom and dad, too!

The best part of retirement has been the chance to see family whenever they are available. During this month, I have been able to see so many family members, including some that I had never met and others that I had not seen in 30-plus years. First and foremost, I have been able to see my parents at least once a week and sometimes even twice a week. As an only child, I have always been close to them, so it makes me very happy to spend so much more time with them. They might be getting sick of me!

I have also had the opportunity to visit my aunt with my parents. My aunt means the world to me, but I am pretty sure she loves my husband more than she loves me! My parents and I also enjoyed spending time with my mother’s cousin and his family. We had been Facebook friends, but it is sad to say that we had not seen them in person in over three decades. We spent a marvelous Sunday together catching up and sharing family history and, of course, sharing Texas Bar-b-que. My mom and I spent the next week talking about how much fun we had visiting with them. It is incredible how family and special friends can reconnect after long times apart and feel like we just saw each other last week.

Retirement affords you the luxury of seeing friends on short notice when they happen to be in town from halfway across the country. This month, I have had the opportunity to see friends that cover the last four decades of my life, and that was a real treat. I have even been able to cook a few meals during the middle of the workweek to make life easier for a friend.

Last but not least, there is my husband I must thank. I think we have adjusted remarkably well to being together almost 24/7. I got this blog launched thanks to his technical support. I am sure he rolls his eyes at me as much as the Houston ISD Service Desk staff probably did every time I called for assistance. The good thing about his technical support is there is usually no wait time. Robert, thank you for all your continued support of my new project.

I have enjoyed this blog project so much because it has allowed me to learn so many new things in one month. First, I had to learn about the blogging process, and this is undoubtedly an ongoing process. Secondly, it caused me to step up my cooking game, which had become very stale because I was always too tired to cook when I got home from a 10- or 11-hour workday. Unfortunately, those close to me have suffered through more than a few recipe failures during this first month, but they have also enjoyed the successes and even helped prepare one or two dishes. During the next several months, I will share several recipes from around the world, so hopefully, you will give a few of them a try.

Thank you for supporting me during my first month of blogging. I have loved sharing stories, recipes, and book recommendations with you. November will be a busy month with out-of-state travel, meeting my new granddaughter, testing recipes, sharing book recommendations, and celebrating Thanksgiving with friends and family. I look forward to sharing these journeys with you.