I didn't know what I was going to say when I started writing this entry. And I realized that notes I've taken at work for blog posts are often needed by the time I get around to writing anything for public consumption. So, I might as well write about some miscellaneous odds and ends in my life.
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It's hard to believe, but I haven't seen my brother since Thanksgiving. I realized this when I was talking to RQS about the situation at my brother's house, trying to recall which holiday we spent together with takeout food. Since I was away cruising at Christmas, I figured out that the holiday was Thanksgiving. But this made me a little sad. My brother does not have a happy home life, and it seems to have reached a constant low.
Last year, I felt it important to find a way to restore communication with XGFJ. Over the past year, I realized that as much as I'm glad that we were able to resume communications in a friendly way, I no longer am hurting from our breakup. Would I have preferred it if we had never broken up? Yes. But, I'm not sure if I'd want to revisit that past. I like where I am now, and do not miss having to guilty about fulfilling commitments I made for myself appearing in a feminine presentation.
Work is a constant soul suck. But I have a set of target end dates for which I will end employment at this place. My nest egg is large enough to get me through retirement. Yet, I want to find ways of preserving it as long as possible. So I've kept working. One of my target dates is for when I've officially been employed by my firm for 12 months. Another target date is the beginning of the month I turn 65. And the last target date is just before my Hawaii cruise. So far, I'm leaning towards the latter date. This will allow me to preserve enough savings, so that a 1 time distribution from my 401k will get me through to when I turn on Social Security payments.
The mother of a girlfriend I had from before I was married just passed away. Even though I haven't seen this woman in years, I'll soon be sending a condolence card to my friend. In addition, an acquaintance from college passed away recently, so I'll be sending a condolence card to his widow as well. The older I get, the quicker people seem to be passing away. Although this is a normal feeling for people my age, I am still saddened by this fact.
Since I'm writing this post on a Saturday, I am looking forward to seeing RQS again. The big question is: When the bloom is off the rose, will it still bring back warm feelings?
