My answer was—half in jest—“Nothin’!” After the roars of laughter (jk) died down, I would explain that I wanted to spend quality time with my wife, children, and grandchildren that I missed during the last 25 years or so that I was spending most of the weeks out of town on business. I wanted to attend daily mass. I wanted to improve my spiritual life by reading the Bible more and I wanted to write my reflections on daily scriptures and life in general. I wanted to volunteer my time when it was asked of me. And, I wanted to relax.
For the first 10 months I ‘dabbled’ in all of the above, but without any real commitment or ‘zeal’. I was actually bored some of the time! That has all changed since my lovely wife Marilyn also retired. She has never been one to just sit around and relax, and retirement didn’t change that ethic in her. It has been one long-neglected task after another that we’ve tackled together. From yard improvements to major “Spring cleaning” projects both at home and at the family cabin, I feel like I’m in a pretty constant whirlwind of activity!
I’m not complaining, because before we started all of these projects Marilyn said, “It will take a while for me to get used to your routine, then there are some things we need to get done that we couldn’t before. We’ll build OUR routine around that.” It was a bit of an understatement. It only took about a week for OUR routine to set in. The beauty of her plan is that I haven’t had to give up any of the routine I had built. I am still going to daily mass. I am still writing. I am still reading my Scripture. I still volunteer when asked. The only thing I don't get enough of though, is relaxing. But it's a small price to pay to spend time with my bride. I really don’t know where I would be today if it weren’t for Marilyn’s loving chastisements and encouragements over the last 45 years, and—dare I say—especially the last 6 weeks!
That’s my way of saying that Marilyn is who I am choosing for my “Saintly” reflection today.
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