Whatever will she do now?

My significant other has just retired . . . again. After highschool, she took a business course and worked for the Bay as a comptometer operator. Comptometers were the state of the art high-speed calculating machines in those days. Before long she went for more training and became a Registered Nurse. When that conflicted with caring for me and four kids, she upgraded her piano and became a teacher. That chapter in her life came to a close last week amidst tears and hugs from parents and pupils who weren't sure what they would do without her.

What will she do now? Well . . . let's see. Being a great cook and having the gift of hospitality, the idea has often crossed her mind to open a bed and breakfast. Not known for doddling, she gave it a try a couple of days ago with our good friends Dave and Chris Neale, who were leaving Calgary for Gibbonsville, Idaho, to be closer to her dad for a while, and do some fishing and writing and, well . . . living.


Then, there's always gardening to consider. Up until a few months ago, I thought this was her first love. Apparently not. We've been attending a group for married couples and learning about communicating and knowing your partner; that sort of thing. Turns out her main interest is actually traveling. Hmmmm. We'll see how that goes.

When she's not on a tropical island somewhere, you'll probably find here in the garden doing some deadheading. Another one of her interests would be fishing. Like all true fisherpersons, she enjoys telling about how big her catches have been, and how they've outnumbered those made by the men. I think she would also like to become a big game hunter like our son Ken.

It seems the main topic of conversation at Darlene's "retirement" luncheon last week was all about trapping wild animals, particularly the ones that have been wintering underneath our hot tub. She was telling her friends how the intruders were eating all the bait and getting away without murder. After listening to their suggestions, she came up with an idea of her own; fastening the bait with chewing gum. BINGO! Zooming in on the security camera's evidence like they do on CSI, we see that isn't a dead flower she's holding in her hand.