"In this sticky web that we're all in, behaving decently is no small task." -- Novelist Stacey D'Erasmo

Sunday, March 1, 2015

Crossing a Threshold


     Sometimes in life we end up doing things we never expected we'd do. I never expected to get divorced. I never expected to lose my job. I never expected to be as old as my dad ... and yet I hear his voice coming out of my mouth all the time.

     The Midlife Crisis Queen never expected to move to a small town in the middle of Colorado. But that's just what she did a little less than a year ago. She and her husband are renting a place in the tiny town of Walsenburg, CO, with a population of 3,068, which still makes it the largest metropolitan area in Huerfano County. In her post Living in the Land of Relaxation she offers her impressions of small town living after years of residing in the city.

     But moving to this tiny town is not the half of it. The reason she's there is because she's building her own home even farther out into the wilderness, in the shadow of the Spanish Peaks. To see how it's going, journey over to her post Beautiful Snow and a Garage Door Too! I guarantee you'll be amazed at some of her photos.

     Meanwhile, Meryl Baer of Six Decades and Counting has crossed her own threshold in life. Get ready, because it's a big one!

     As much as she hates to admit it, she now eagerly drives into town in the late afternoon, heads to a restaurant and proceeds to patronize the ... early bird special! Check out her admission into this new phase of life in Confession of an Early Birder.

     Personally, I see nothing wrong in taking advantage of a cheap meal -- however you come by it -- but the real question is: Does she stuff those Sweet 'n Lo packets into her purse before she goes out the door to get home safely before dark?

     Now I move on from something we never expected we'd do, to something that I, at least, resolved never to do again. After struggling through several used cars in my early adulthood -- a Buick, a VW, a Saab -- I told myself I would never buy a used car again. So the years went by. I bought a brand new Ford Taurus, a Honda, another Saab (okay, everybody's allowed to repeat one mistake). And then, again, I needed a new car. But a new one seemed so expensive, and there was this great deal on a Volvo with less than 30,000 miles on it, and there was a one-year guarantee ... and (the salesman told me) it was only driven by a little old lady. On Sundays. To church.

     So I went ahead and bought a used 2004 Volvo. Then, within a few weeks, it was back at the dealer for a new transmission. Fortunately, it was covered by the warranty. Still, I spent a fortune on that car over the next several years -- until my daughter said she'd take it off my hands. She's now still driving that thing, closing in on 200,000 miles. And if what she tells me is true, she hasn't spent a dime on it in the last three years other than to change the oil. Go figure.

     Anyway, that's a long introduction to The Survive and Thrive Boomer Guide, where consumer journalist Rita R. Robison offers a parking lot full of the  Best Used Cars for Every Budget, according to Consumer Reports. The review also includes a list warning us off the worst used cars. So if you're in the market, drive over to see the list. And by the way, Volvo doesn't make either the best or the worst list. Which leads me to believe, maybe it's not the car, but the driver, who determines how the car performs over the long haul. 

     Finally, from Smart Living 365, we have some thoughts not about how cars perform, but how we ourselves perform in our own lives, and how much we create our own circumstances and our own futures.

     Says blogger Kathy Gottberg, "While I'll admit that it is empowering to think I influence my world, and easy to imagine that your reality can be very different from mine, obviously that doesn't mean I can fly just because I want to. So do we create our own reality? What does the statement even mean? Is it true? And if yes, how does that lead to a smart and happy life?" For some insights, if not the final answers, try going to The Truth Behind "You Create Your Own Reality." 

      That's all from the Baby Boomer bloggers, except to say that B and I will be watching Downton Abbey tonight. It's the Season 5 finale, so maybe we'll find out what happens with ... well, you can watch on your own and enjoy it yourself.


14 comments:

DJan said...

I usually watch Downton Abbey a day or two later, but tonight I might just stay up and watch the finale. And yes, maybe we will find out what will happen with... you know. :-)

Anonymous said...

I saw Meryl's post, and your comment too. No early bird specials are okay, because the restaurants that have them usually serve food you probably shouldn't eat...around here anyway. We seldom eat out anymore. Of course, just getting out is difficult these days..

Laura Lee Carter said...

Hey Tom!
Thanks for bringing attention to our big new adventure in southern Colorado. One year ago today we started preparing our home in the suburbs for sale...What a wild and crazy year it has been!

Kathy @ SMART Living 365.com said...

Hi Tom! My Thom and I will also be watching the season finale of Downton Abby tonight here on the west coast. And speaking of something I/we never thought we'd be doing when younger is watching a English period piece on Sunday nights! And when we first met and married we both thought my dad and my mom were OLD, and they were actually about 15 years younger than we are NOW. Things change for sure.

Thank you once again for including me in your boomer round up! Sometimes my "reality" is better than anything I could create on my own. :-) ~Kathy

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the round-up of posts! We probably won't watch the season finale of DA for a few days... so please don't give up the ending! I'll miss my DA "friends" until next January when (I hope) they will be back.

Anonymous said...

Hubby and I believe in buying brand new cars, mainly because of the warranty. Don't know whether we will continue to do that as we age and we have less disposable income. We'll see.

Mac n' Janet said...

I leased my car for 3 1/2 years, liked it so much that I bought it at the end of the lease, kind of a used car, driven by a little old lady.

Pam said...

Who would have thought we'd be faced with crossing so many thresholds in retired life. Honestly, I love choices, but sometimes it's hard to sort through all of them! We're trying to decide on buying a car, and the shout out to Rita's post was appreciated. Tom, we had two Volvos in the 80s and absolutely loved them. We drove our 1989 until daughter wrecked it in 2012. Wish I still had it!

Pam said...

Who would have thought we'd be faced with crossing so many thresholds in retired life. Honestly, I love choices, but sometimes it's hard to sort through all of them! We're trying to decide on buying a car, and the shout out to Rita's post was appreciated. Tom, we had two Volvos in the 80s and absolutely loved them. We drove our 1989 until daughter wrecked it in 2012. Wish I still had it!

stephen Hayes said...

I'll be watching Downton Abbey tonight. I understand Maggie Smith is leaving the show. Her quip had me laughing: "C'mon folks, it's the 1920s. My character would be 120 years old."

Friko said...

We did the moving out of the city to the back of beyond and, although the place is gorgeous and the natives very friendly, I do miss the fleshpots. And the easy access to anything and everything.

I am not sure that you can make your own reality; we are all dependent on so many circumstances around us. If these don’t fit, what do we do then? Try, try, try again?

Linda Myers said...

I do believe we're going to put Downton Abbey in our Netflix queue.

If anyone had ever told me I'd be spending my winters in a trailer in Arizona...Nah, too outlandish!

Anonymous said...

On the "You create your own reality" theme, I have for years wandered if that is indeed true, what have I done to piss myself off so much? Surely I could have come up with something better than this if I liked me.....

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