Still having fun?

Every day I ask Barb the same question. "Are you still having fun?"
Every day (so far) the answer is still the same. "Yes!"

It was a year ago that we decided to completely upend our lives and move to Tennessee. We wanted to view retirement and this eternal vacation, and while in many ways it has been just that, of course the reality is that there is no such thing as an eternal vacation. Eventually reality sets in ... but in our case it has been very slow in settling.

Now that I have ended my four month stint as the biting target for that group of kindergarten and first grade boys we are back to waking up each day and saying, "What do you want to do today?" There is still a long, long list of things we want to get to, but we don't feel like we have to do them all in one day.

Last week we did our first serious celebrity-siting activity. We went to a charity softball game that included bunches of country music stars (Carrie Underwood, Josh Turner, Joe Nichols, etc.) and members of the Tennessee Titans and Predators. We got seats right where the TV cameras were set up, so most everyone stopped right in front of us and signed autographs. We didn't partake in the signing, but took plenty of pictures and just enjoyed people watching.

We have also joined the YMCA and started a regime of daily water workouts. Not only has this helped get us a bit more in shape, but the branch of the Y we visit is in an area of the Nashville area that we had not previously explored.That has opened us up to several new stores and restaurants, and we have even acquired a taste for southern catfish ... something we disliked so much the last time we had it (10 years ago) that we waited this long to try it again. We also found a new favorite Italian restaurant and a bakery, so life is good on the food front.

In July we head to California for the Barbershop Harmony Society international convention where my chorus (Music City Chorus) will compete. I have put in hundred of hours of preparation for my six minutes on stage, but I really do enjoy the singing and the 60+ new friends I have made because of the chorus. Oh yeah ... I was also asked to write a show script for a chorus in Alabama and will MC their show in August, so I am broadening my range there, too.

That stint with the hand biters also got my to thinking that if I was going to go to work every day I may as well go back to what I do best. So, starting in August I will return to my roots and teach middle school special education at LaVergne Middle School in Rutherford County, one county southeast of Davidson (Nashville). It is a only a 15-20 minutes drive (about 7 miles) and the school was built about four years ago. This will be the first time I am face-to-face in a classroom with middle school kids since 1999-2000, but hopefully it will all come back to me --- in a positive way!

With me teaching Barb can afford to stay retired and doing what she does best, socializing and networking. She could be busy every day of the week if she wanted, and there are many days she wants to do just that.

So, are we still having fun? You bet. We miss people up north, but we plan a couple of trips there before school starts and the roads do run both ways (of course). We're looking forward to several visitors in the next few weeks.

Our 34th wedding anniversary in next week and every day is still new.