Ode To A Retiree

Retirement is a blessed thing
or is it but a curse,
To be with no real purpose
or a cranky a boss ~ what’s worse?
Yet still I find the peace of mind
to draw on my abilities
To get out of the housework
and still able to please!

There’s much to do now time’s my own
I’ve still a lot to learn,
Like how to do the ironing
without getting burnt ~
I can even cook a boiled egg
and “soldiers” to dunk in,
But what about these dishes now
oh where do I begin??

There’s pots and pans and cutlery,
so where does it all go
Where does the wife keep these things?
that’s all I want to know!
Blast, now my coffee’s ready
as the kettle begins to wail,
I must hurry to boot the ‘puter
so I can download my mail.

With that done I look at the clock
I still havea bit of time
To put away the dishes
in whatever place I find ~
Because come 2pm the tele’s on
with nothing much done still,
But I settle with my feet up then
as I stop to watch “The Bill”.

Gone are the days I had finesse
as well as the ability
‘Cause now that I’m retired
I don’t have the energy!
I used to golf, I used to fish,
enjoying the great outdoors
And now I have the time for it
I have the stamina no more!

Ah, but the joys of retirement
while the wife goes out to work
Such peacefulness to sit and think
without the burden of words ~
And so I potter about the kitchen
to prepare the tea
So when she comes home at dinnertime
the meal is all ready!

Time for a few words to each other
talking about our day
As we do the dishes after the news
before “The Bill” gets underway ~
Wednesday’s “Heelers” and Thursday’s “Rex”
then it’s back to “The Bill”
Come Saturday night when we enjoy
another night in Sun Hill.

Other than the odd programme
there’s plenty more to do
But these days I’m counting sleeps
till “The Bill” takes its next cue!
But on the nights there’s nothing on
when it’s just the wife and me
Then we’ll just compute together
in each other’s company!

© Christina
20th May, 2004

Wednesday’ Blue Heelers is an Australian police drama series that was produced by Southern Star Group and ran for 12 years on the Seven Network, from 1994 to 2006.

Thursday’ Inspector Rex is about a newly divorced cop who teams up with a police dog to solve crimes around Vienna, from 1994 to 2004.