Here are my answers to this week’s SYW from sensitivity101

1.  When you retire (or when you retired) do you have a picture of a small cottage with a white picket fence outside in a quiet village or something similar?
I did not picture any such thing. Hubby retired nine months before I did at the age of 70. I had just turned 62 when I left my teaching post at the end of the school year. We still had a houseful of family and pets and were very busy with our clubs and social life. The plan was to stay where we were until we died. Never ever did I plan to move permanently to our holiday home in Struisbaai! But the idea of it became more and more attractive as the post-retirement months flew by. After six months we decided that living in that quiet and sleepy village was exactly what we wanted to do. If we didn’t like it we could always move back. We bought a caravan to spend more time in the bush and although we’re unsure if it was the best decision we made we have not regretted it. Nine years of Struisbaai, caravanning, and other travel have been blissful. We are still able to visit our family and friends frequently and when that changes we will deal with whatever becomes necessary.

2.  What do you associate with school dinners (apart from school of course) ?
In South Africa, we did not have school dinners. Every child had a lunchbox filled with whatever Mom decided to put in it. A lot of swapping went on. I was a picky eater. Sandwiches were dried out and inedible when break time came around. I preferred carrot sticks and polony. My mother gave us a cooked breakfast before school and I often did not eat my school lunch. School was over by 2:15 and I would have ‘lunch’ then.

3.   Can you play a musical instrument?
I took piano lessons for about a year when I was seven. At college, I learned to play a few tunes on the recorder. I can’t do either now.
My daughter learned piano and guitar. She is pretty good on a keyboard now.

4. What made you smile today?

When an American patron offered to take a photo of my hubby and me having lunch with my brother and sister-in-law, I handed her a ‘real’ camera and not a phone and she didn’t know how to use it.

However, once I showed her,  she took a pretty good photo.

Gratitude

I am grateful for my siblings