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A little detour off the usual route can spice things up

By GEORGI DAVIS
Published July 5, 2006

I love the community we live in. Between September and May there is so much to do. We have dinner dances, potluck suppers, plays, shuffleboard, line dancing, bingo, bunko, horseshoes, tennis, swimming and golf, to name a few.

But when the snowbirds leave, many of these activities cease. There are fewer people at the pool, no one plays horseshoes and many activities stop altogether.

It seems as though our social committee thinks only part-time residents want to have fun. But just because I live here year-round doesn't mean I can't have fun.

But I really can't be critical, since I am the social chairwoman.

So the other day, when I was having one of those "down" spells, I told my husband that we needed to go out at least once a week. That way I would have something to look forward to.

After all, I can watch the alligator swim by in my pond for only so long. I didn't want to get to the point where I would jump in the pond to feed myself to the gator.

Being the thoughtful husband he is, he took my suggestion and told me to call friends and that we would go out to dinner. I was delighted. I also didn't want to become a griping person. (He probably would have used a different word, but I didn't want to write it here.)

So I got right on the horn and called up some friends with the dinner-out suggestion. The first couple were very enthusiastic. They are younger than we; she is still working and admitted to having that TGIF mentality. This was great.

I then called another couple. They thought the idea was great, too, especially since the wife had just celebrated a birthday and her husband hadn't been able to take her out at the time. So we decided to make it an unbirthday celebration.

Not wanting to leave anyone out, we called another set of friends. They are usually included in the four-couple outings. Now here is where the idea got a little more complicated.

First, we had to decide where to eat. We all had different ideas about where would be fun as well as delicious.

I prefer dining on the water. After all, that is why I moved down here: to be close to the water. I like watching the boats go by as I eat.

Three of the couples agreed, but all had different ideas about which water restaurant would be best. We all have our favorites.

My husband wanted to go upscale. So we decided on an outdoor dining spot that also serves finer dining inside, in case the weather became less than friendly.

There was to be entertainment outside and inside in the bar area. It all seemed perfect.

The fourth couple had other thoughts. They thought it would be too hot outside to enjoy the evening. Then they were afraid the bugs would bite. They really wanted to go dancing at an inexpensive, dank, dark, musty establishment where the food and drinks are cheap. After all, that is what they do every Friday night, and they didn't want to break the routine.

So we went out to eat without them. We had a great time, except for the fact that one of the men complained that he didn't like the music. But we got through that.

The next day, the couple who didn't go with us said that they also had had fun. Different strokes for different folks.

I discovered that some couples are pretty set in their ways. Some retirees seem to move through retirement with blinders on. Every day they do the same thing in the same way. Get up, take a shower, make breakfast. Read the paper, sweep, dust, read a book then go to their daily activity, make supper and go to bed.

It would be unheard of for them to skip bunko for one night and do something entirely different. They couldn't and wouldn't miss bingo on Wednesday or golf on Tuesday.

I got to thinking about it. I have a daily routine and maybe I need to change it. Say, for instance, instead of taking my shower in the morning, I could take it at night. I could wash my hair at night, wet it and blow-dry it in the morning.

Maybe I could go without makeup for one day and see if anyone noticed. If I didn't make my bed for one day, would the president come to see me? What if I ironed my clothes before I washed them? Would they still be wrinkle free after washing?

I even bought hair curlers, something I haven't done since 1973. A friend suggested that if I was going to wear curlers in my hair, I also needed a funky bathrobe and fuzzy slippers. I'm sure these curlers will bring back memories for my husband of days gone by.

I also thought that maybe I should change my eating habits. I could eat lunch for breakfast, breakfast for supper and supper for breakfast. That would break the routine. Maybe I should try starting my day with a glass of wine and ending it with a cup of coffee. There are just so many things I could do to break the monotony of everyday, retired life.

But maybe I should try something even more daring, like learn to fly a plane, take up hang gliding or become a truck driver. I could even walk my way around Europe with a backpack or take up caving. Oh, the possibilities!

One morning I tried stalking one of our good-natured residents. After all, I've never been a stalker. It was interesting following him through the park in my car. When he stopped, I told him what I was doing. He told me I could stalk him any time. See what fun you can have if you try?

But when you get right down to it, as my grandmother used to say, "A leopard does not change its spots. People change temporarily, but they always go back to what they were."

Which is probably what will happen to me. After all, summer only lasts so long and soon the snowbirds will be back and activities will begin again. So I need to relax and enjoy the pleasure of my own company and keep my husband going out once a week.

After all, things could be worse. I could be enduring six months of bad weather up North. I could be in a position where I couldn't move at all. That is not a good thought.

I end on a positive note: Bloom where you are planted. Enjoy what you have and forget about the rest. There is something to say for daily routine. It makes you feel safe and comfortable.

Thoughts for the day: Sometimes we need to stray from our daily road. Variety is the spice of life. Sometimes it is better to keep trucking on the same old highway.

Georgi Davis lives in Homosassa

[Last modified July 5, 2006, 00:29:15]