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Monday, December 01, 2008

Alternative Arrangements for Ancients (AAA)

Monday, December 1, 2008

I’ve been living alone- with my wife of 35 years, for about a year. In many ways it is
“The best of all possible worlds” as far as I’m concerned but if you asked my wife she might disagree.

I first started sleeping in one of the spare rooms because of my wife’s snoring and her tendency to scream “mama” when woken from a sound sleep. Also we have very different ideas about optimum sleeping arrangements; my “better half” insists on hermetically sealed sleeping quarters (windows shut tight, closed, heavy blinds on the windows, doors closed) I prefer open windows, no blinds and the door wide open.
In addition, my wife retires very soon after dinner and I usually go to be at 11:00 PM and read until midnight.

Now, I’m well established in my own room with a desk and my laptop at a large window and the freedom to got bed when I please without being screamed at. However, I still think about future arrangements and the idea of co-housing seems like a very sensible idea to me. I retired at 65, ten years ago, but my wife, who is my junior by 13 years still works at a job she enjoys. She plans to continue until she reaches the point she can qualify for full S.S. benefits. At that point, we could move to co-housing and I would relinquish my housekeeping, gardening and maintenance responsibilities that could prove somewhat “heavy” in another 7 years. (I’ll be 81 by then)

2 comments:

Cowtown Pattie said...

Hermetcally sealed -LOL (perhaps a little play on words and let's call it HERMITically sealed - brings a nice new meaning, no?)

I, too, have a loveable bear of a spouse who retires early most nights while I am still a-putter with books and the internet, and who-know-what-else.

Still, it is nice to snuggle up to my human heater and pretend we are wild native Americans on a buffalo rug ;-)

Cowtown Pattie said...

Hey, Mythster, I can't find your email address here on the blog?

Write me cowtownpattie@gmail.com