A DAY IN THE (RETIRED) LIFE

A Typical Day in the (Retired) Life

 of Tony Fernandes

I am often asked these days: "Hey Tony what do you do?" "Now that you are retired how do you pass your time?"  "You are so lucky, you must be sleeping in till late I guess?" "Also you must not be getting enough exercise having nothing to do?" "You must be watching lot of TV programs now that you are free, no?" And many more such queries.

Well, it would be not be simple to respond, but being a hobbyist, artist, photographer, blogger, facebooker, twitterer, e-mailer, wood-worker, author-writer, poet, tinker, tailor, pyrographer, wood-crafter, book printer, book binder, music lover, husband, father, grand-father, house-cleaner, house-repairer, etcetera, there’s enough on my hands, or on my plate, and there’s no dearth of things to do on any given day.

A typical day begins with a couple of cups of hot coffee at 6 am (and by the way, I make it myself!). And then it’s computer time – checking email, FB postings, Twitter posting, cutting and pasting!, Blog posting - post photos on blog if any and sometimes my own articles and views.

Then its printing time – recipe books, laminating covers, punching and ring-binding; getting them ready for the next show. If that’s not enough then there’s a short drive to the commercial kitchen to help with Edna’s pickles (by the way, I'm a specialist in precise chopping of vegetables and fruits, labeling, sealing) - and voila the product is ready!

Back home, its repair time – just like my Dad did – find something around the house that’s to be repaired or painted. Later, oh sorry, I forgot – today is garbage day - so sort out the garbage. And then the grass on the lawn has suddenly over-grown – it seems I had it mowed just the other day! So mow the lawn. And did I water the lawn? No time today; let's keep that for tomorrow.

The crab apple tree and the pear tree is overbearing – branches are drooping low with the weight of too many apples and too many pears. So pluck apples and pears.

So far I’ve had no time to look at my watch, but a quick glance surprises me that it’s almost 2 pm and lunch-time. Lunch goes along with TV to catch up on the latest news.

Forty winks later, I’m suddenly reminded to go to my younger daughter’s place – she’s has recently moved and has a new bed to be assembled, and few other things – like paintings to be put up. So on the way to my daughters's house, I've to comply with a request and that is to make a stop at Canada Post to ship an order for Edna’s Pickles.

Time just seems to fly; it’s almost evening. Haven’t been cycling in 3 days - so I think I must do it today – I should also be checkiing out a new trail – or pedal off to see my little grandson Ari who is not far away.

Back home again, it’s ‘America’s Got Talent’ time – leading to the World News and suddenly I hear the door-bell ring. I go to open the door and there’s my eldest daughter – she’s got a coffee table in her car that she’s brought from her cottage, and needs it repaired. I bring the table in, and now I think that somehow I already have something more to do tomorrow, even before this day has ended.

Invariably it’s got to be a late dinner – an unchangeable habit that is still dying hard since the days in the UAE, - and then Jay Leno or Letterman, Jimmy Fallon, Craig Fergusson or Jimmy Kimmel to have a laugh at the end of the day.

There's an Irish proverb that goes like this: 'A good laugh and a long sleep are the best cures in the doctor's book.' Must be true in some ways. No wonder then, they are aired late in the night. A pretty good cure to end a busy day.

Having said that, tomorrow is another day. Also I have to remember that it's a garbage day. So off I go to sleep - before I can even count one, two, three ... ten sheep!