At the End of the Day

Overlooking a lake just north of Houston

Some time ago I stepped out of the RV right after sundown.  It wasn't dark yet, but it was trending in that direction.  We were camped overlooking a lake just north of Houston.

A few months later I stepped out of the RV right after sundown again.  We were camped this time in a small west Texas town in a campground right on the main highway through town.  Across the highway were the typical small town businesses and the obligatory Mexican restaurant, some of which had lighted signs.  The front of the campground was bordered along the highway with a white rail fence with a marker light atop every second post.

My thought pattern was the same both times after stepping out into the early evening.

At that particular time of day, I noticed that the light conditions seemed to make my vision a little clearer.  At least I noticed things I had not noticed in the brighter light of day.  There was no glare from a sun angle.   I could see lights at a great distance.  (If you click on the picture above to enlarge it on your screen you will see those lights.)  The ambient light level was low enough so that the lights stood out in my vision, but there was still enough light to see things that were unlighted.  But this balance only lasted for a short time and then the cycle of time moved on and darkness overtook.

I began to think about how this could correlate with my life and retirement.  For most of us retirement comes at the end of one life stage and the beginning of another.  For me the analogy could be that it comes toward the sundown of my work/life day.  As we retire we may begin to notice things we never noticed before.  There are several things that might work in our favor to make that happen.

First of all we should be a little wiser than we were earlier in life.  If we are not then shame on us.  With all of the experiences we have had in our lives, we should be.

Second, the fact that we have retired should have removed a lot of the "glare" caused by things in our everyday lives of the past.  That "glare" was probably caused by the hectic schedules and stress of our jobs, raising a family, and all of the other things involved in life before retirement.

There is probably an opportunity here.  If what I am thinking is true, the question becomes, “How should I take advantage of this opportunity to notice things I have never noticed before?”  Trying to answer that question is one of the reasons I am writing this blog.  With each post I answer a small bit of that question for myself.  I hope as you read each post you enjoy following my quest.