Stoics, Hacks, Plumbago, and Time...

Dear Maria,

Hey— Wow! Just now an extraordinarily beautiful bluebird landed in the white oak near the back fence. Against this gray sky, well an Audubon could well try to match the color. Do I get bonus points for not using the phrase super pretty? Commence eye-rolling.

Went ahead and moved a young plum tree and one of the knockouts—and a lantana. Also took five plumbago plants out of the ground to be replanted soon, but where I have no idea. Sort of set out how the deck might go. Have a very simple plan in mind, so don’t conjure up some vision of redwood pergolas and multi-level flooring.

Told my mother that even as I do this work, I fully expect the next owner of this house to bulldoze away the garden and chop down the trees. She is appalled at the notion, but I merely shrug.

Had to chuckle a bit the other day when a link I posted to Kaple’s Corner on Facebook generated one the highest number of hits ever—even more than those on parenting. The heart of the article was Stoicism, but cleverly the writer, or editor perhaps, billed the piece under the term life hacks. Guess, there is no notice to be given to “Stoic Thinking”. Life hacks—of course, I think I can hack life even as some of what goes on hacks me.

While I was taking a break from the shovel, my neighbor Frank—we share about 60 feet of fence—was picking up limbs and asked me again about being retired. And, again, we revisited how I chose to go after 28 years with 2 still on my certificate. Then he asked the question: Did I TERI? I decided to keep my standard reply in my head this time. No, I chose not to linger.

Frank, who retired from the State Ports Authority, chided me for not taking advantage of the program and accumulating retirement funds in an escrow account while still working. For him, the winning number in the discussion was the $200,000 he banked.

So, I asked, “Did you spend it?”

“No, but I have it if I need it.”

“Well, I’m getting along okay.”

“Oh, now I don’t know anything about your situation, but you should’ve taken the deal.”

Guess I didn’t hack retirement planning very well. But, the day was glorious and the gardening muscles were for that day forgiving and my hawk—my hawk, now that is preposterous—loudly let the world know he was about. Inside, my desk was without a stack of papers to grade, and I haven’t held a red pen in 9 months. 

Priceless. Of course, I don’t know anything about another’s situation. Hope you take some time to relax this weekend. Feed the cat, walk the dog, hug the children.

Hacking along, srk