The Pleasures of Retirement

It is a Wednesday evening. I think it is going to rain any minute. I can smell it in the air. This afternoon in the heat there was the sound of thunder. It was unexpected because there were few clouds. I was sitting in my little casita and my landlord came out and asked if it was an explosion. I just pointed up to the sky and said, thunder. But no rain came after that and it has been still and calm for the rest of the afternoon and evening. The wind is just starting to pick up outside my door. I went up to the market three times today. I lugged home so many fresh fruits and veggies I won't be able to eat them all before they go bad but I am getting such a kick out of having this huge refrigerator that I filled it up. If I were back in the States I could not afford to buy all this great food; vine ripened tomatoes, pineapple, purple grapes, green beans, fresh peas, mangoes, watermelon, blackberries, strawberries, on and on....... My life is simple here and I am happy. No car, no insurance, no bills, no mail. I feel more connected to the natural world by living this way. I walk a lot. I am getting physically healthier. Maybe one day soon I can quit taking my high blood pressure pills. Then I will be on no medications. Someone told me the other day that people living here live an average of ten years longer than people in the States. I don't know where she got her statistics. It is probably just a theory but I can see why. It is a good life here for us. I see many people in their eighties and nineties getting around on their own. Sorry, I am again bragging about this place. I just can't get over how happy I am. Tomorrow if it isn't raining I am going swimming in the morning and in the afternoon I will go to the NLP group. I am not much of a socializer. I am a loner but I like this group. I can sometimes go for days without talking with anyone except for small talk on the street. Maybe this isn't such a good thing. I am too easily pleased by doing my own things; swimming, reading, walking, grocery shopping, blogging. Maybe one day I will get bored with being alone and then I will go to some more groups. There are a lot of choices. The central theme here seems to be, Live and Let Live.... I can be social if I like or be alone. No one is going to give me a hard time about the way I chose to spend my days. Retirement, it is great!