"Looking forward." Has PN taken that away from me, too?

Ray, you must be a writer at heart. Your words resonate quite a bit with me but at 82 I just can't do what I used to do and it's definitely demoralizing at times. I used to look forward to long road trips to see different sites, venues and state parks but have pretty much given those days up. What I haven't given up and really look forward to is coffee with the my ex-coworkers at the local telephone company most every Friday. I usually stop by and pick up some fat pills (donuts🙃) and share them with my friends at the office and we sit around on their break and solve the world's problems.

I do really look forward to my phone alarm going off at 5am to remind me it's time to feed my cat and get my wife off to work. She's a year younger and in much better health and still working full time, although I am hoping this is the last year so we can enjoy our "golden" years 😂.

Everyday is an adventure my friend! I wish you fair winds and smooth sailing if you take the water route.

When I wake up I thank the Lord that I woke up alive! Then I try some positivity like "Ok Mike, get your ass out of bed and don't waste this day because nothing is guaranteed in life". Ray you sound like a wonderful person who would be a good friend! Sometimes we all need to force ourselves to have a good time. Once we get where we are going, enjoy whatever and wherever it is. And if it's sometimes hard on you, there is no reason not to return to where you came from and try again tomorrow!

Aw, John, we are birds of a feather, birds perhaps with a couple of gimpy wings. I, too, used to look forward to long road trips –– cruises, too (on small ships, thank you very much). I can too easily feel cheated by PN. I'd been to Europe several times but always by plane; I looked forward to retiring and being able to go on a long lingering cruise –– which my partner and I did within months of our both retiring. Little did I know that the wobbliness I would sometimes feel onboard the Aegean Odyssey (my favorite small ship) was due to more than the rolling Mediterranean. It wan't long after returning home that Doctor B. said to me: "It's called idiopathic peripheral neuropathy. I'm sorry, Ray, but there's not much I can do for you." How life and hop tracks in an instant!

I guess we're not 100% birds of a feather. I don't need an alarm going off to tell me it's tie to feed our cat. Our cat does that for me, that good ol' 5 am eeeee-owwwww-eeeeeeee-ow-ow-ow! 🙂

Have a great day, John!
Ray

I applaud all you say, Mike! (Well, I'm not too sure about me being a "wonderful person," that's debatable 🙂 ) I do think at times we have to force ourselves to have good times –– force, or prod, or at least give ourselves a good (silent) hard talking-to. That talking-to is what I use my morning journal for. That friend with whom I'll be having phoned only minutes ago ("Are we still having coffee?") I feigned shock ("WHAT? Have I ever backed out of us having coffee?") to which my buddy laughed. As did I. One thing I am going to do (suggested by a fellow Peer via a private message) is suggest to my friend that from now on we meet in the morning when my PN is not nearly as bothersome (not a wobbly). Renewing the good life, insofar as it's possible (and often that's not an easy thing to do) is what being your own best friend is all about. Have a great day, Mike. Have a great day tomorrow, too! ––Ray

Two reasons to always proofread:

No. 1: "That friend with whom I'll be having phoned only minutes ago" was suppose to be "That friend with whom I'll be having phone COFFEE only minutes ago … "

No. 2 " … (suggested by a fellow Peer via a private message) … " was suppose to be " … (suggested by a fellow PN'er via a private message) … "

Now, will I proofread this? Well … 🙂

Ray (@ray666)

No, no, no, Ray! Let's try this one more time (and then I'll be quiet):

No. 1: "That friend with whom I'll be having phoned only minutes ago" was suppose to be "That friend with whom I'll be having COFFEE PHONED only minutes ago … "

(Time to up my meds … )

I like your idea of moving your time up for coffee based upon when you're feeling better! I don't think we mind, at least I don't, grammar or typos etc. because we're just chatting and know what you mean! It's good you have this friend! In my former work life many of my friends were people I worked with and most were out of state or out of the country. We stayed close initially but, as the years went on the calls and emails slowed down. My local good friends who I grew up with, all but one, passed away (way too young). My last buddy is now in the Vets home suffering with Parkinson's and dementia. I visit him when I can and he remembers me and all the trouble we got into throughout our years together. His wife will tell me later that he hasn't seen me in a long time. He was a marine in Viet Nam that was highly decorated, served two tours. A few years ago the PTSD became too much for his wife to handle but the Vets Home is close by and she visits him daily. I bring this up because all this gets me thinking I am what I am and that's what keeps me alive. You have a wonderful day also Ray! P.S. I hope your coffee "break" was enjoyable!!

I feel like I know exactly how you're feeling, I've been going through something similar. Now that the warmer weather is finally here, it's car show season here in the PNW. My wife and I have some friends that we've known since we first moved up here from LA over 30 years ago. They're both a few years older than us, they're in their 70's, and we're in our 60's.
We've gone to countless car shows over the years, John and I check out the cars, while the ladies check out the local stores before we get back together around noon and have lunch. One of the local shows that we've gone to is happening this coming weekend, and I've been a little apprehensive about going because of the pain in my legs and feet. It's gotten considerably worse over this past Winter, walking for any length of time has become harder and more painful.
Being at a car show means at least 2 or 3 hours of being on your feet, and I'm not sure if I can do it any more. I have to use a walking stick to give me something I can lean on occasionally, and to help with my balance issues. I even wear my "Frankenstein" shoes to the shows, my old steel toed work boots that I wore during my working career. They're heavy and have a large sole, so they help me keep my balance as well.
Any way, I just talked to my old friend, and we're going to the show together, just the 2 of us. The ladies both have other plans, but the next show is on the 28th, and the 4 of us will be going to that one as usual.
I need to know if I can still do this, be on my feet for several hours any more, so I'm going for it, even though it'll cost me in pain when I get back home.
Pain means that I'm still alive right?

Hi, Mike. My friend agreed to morning coffees –– and a good thing, too! He drove and neither of us had a handicap tag with us, and, as my sour luck would have it, the coffee shop parking lot was a pothole nightmare. Anyone watching cross the parking would have guessed I was tiptoeing through an anti-personnel minefield. I like how you call it –– "my former work life" –– that's perfect! That's how it is for most folks: after retirement, work-life friendships last for a while but then fade. My experience was much the same, while slightly different. In the theater, friendships too often last only so long as the show you're all in, then everyone scatters. While you're together, however, those friendship can become insanely intense –– wild, too; tough for a guy like me who was trying to quit drinking. Today, with only one exception (an 87-year-old actor friend who not only still alive but still in Denver), all of my theater pals have either died, moved away, or not up for get-togethers. As for my Army buddies, only a few remained buddies very long after discharge, but they, too, are today either no longer alive, living on the far side of the US, or no longer interested in socializing. How many of my friends I have lost was driven home to me last December when I made my annual stop at the post office to purchase international stamps. Because of various circumstances, I once had several dozen good friends in Europe, the majority if them in Britain. In years past I need to buy a couple of books of international stamps. This past December, I needed only two, and one was for a Season's Greetings card for a friend I've not heard back from in recent years. I sent him a card anyway, because … well, because you never know. Thanks for your messages today, Mike! Time for supper. Time to shut down Mr. MacBook Pro. LOL –Ray (@ray666)

Hello there, mrmacabre! (@mrmacabre) Your situation matches mine to a T. Just substitute botanic garden stroll-arounds (my partner's favorite pastime) or friends' blockbuster movie invitations (with 3 & 3/4-hour running times –– grief!) for car shows (on concrete floors, I'm guessing), and you understand precisely the kind of thoughts that run through my mind. And yet like you, I'll do the botanic gardens, knowing I'll end up with regrets that evening (regrets I'll keep to myself). (I'll often skip the blockbuster movie invites, however –– and don't get me wrong, I love movies! –– but because my bladder grows impatient during 3 & 3/4-hour movies and the men's restroom is invariably hidden away at the top of a plush, handrail-less staircase.) I'd better wrap this up. My partner is soon to yell "Supper!" But to close let me say you're right, pain does mean we're still alive. That's true … although if I had my way I'd exchange pain for some other kind of reminder, like a refund check from the government or a free round-trip ticket to Cancun. 🙂 Have a great evening! ––Ray (@ray666)