Live with Intention - Self Care

I am very fortunate because I knew my grandparents on both sides of my family well. My dad's dad was from Alabama and was born in the 1800s. A very quiet man. Went to bed early and got up early with intention even in his retirement years.  

My dad's mom was a nurse and my grandfather made hospital meals. Both of my grandparents worked at the county hospital a few blocks away from their house. That's were I got the idea to live close to my work. He was their only driver because she never learned to drive. When I learned to drive, I would help out. I can't remember when they retired... I just remember them receiving a gold watch. That was a thing in those days. I believe they retired earlier in life than I did... early 60s maybe? Both lived into their 80s.

In the early 70s , grandma spend the weekdays at our house for about 3 years. My dad had MS and was in a wheelchair. She helped out and taught me some nursing skills. I was always good at nursing but had my fill of it at home. That's how she spent some of her retirement. Never a complaint came from their lips. Of course they lived though two World Wars, the Spanish flu, the Great Depression, the Korean War, Vietnam War, as well as JFK, MLK, and Bobby dying by this time... plus life it's self. They were tough people. Complaining was ridiculous because as the saying "life is what it is".

My other grandparents lived on the other side of the tracks, but I will say more about them at another time. This week I am thinking about all of them because they modeled retirement for me. And the best word to describe these two is they lived their days with intention. They got up and got going. Doing whatever project needed to be done. I want to do the same. It

was my intention to take it slow and easy this first week. To allow myself a chance to adapt to change. 

Until Monday