60 is the new 40!

Yep, today is birthday number 60!

I was gonna spend it chilling by the pool at the Condo in the town up north, sipping on a few margaritas,  but hey, why spend it alone!   Instead I'll be working at the Roses in Pearl, then time will be spent in the kitchen making cheese straws and iced sugar cookies for another football Saturday this weekend!

Some ask, "why are you working?"  As I told my boss the other day, this ain't no real job.  I'm doing something I enjoy, I'm outside, sweating off some calories, and can take off any time I want.  Got nobody barking orders, no phone calls all day long, no 200 emails to read & delete, and no boss scheming 25 different ways to run me off!

This 60 thang is like being 40 again!  The first time around was a killer!  I wake up on Monday mornings fired up ready to attack the week instead of spending Sundays dreading the week that lies ahead!

The challenges for me now are so much different than before.  Toward the end of my working career, I was in one of those self improvement workshops, where you think "yeah, been here countless times, what am I going to do to kill the next six hours."  We were tasked to write down a business plan for the rest of our lives.  What do we enjoy doing the most, what is the most fulfilling things in our lives makes us the most happy.  I don't remember who the speaker was, but boy, for some reason, his words hit me.  Up until then, I had no clue what my personal goals in life were.

 Suddenly I had an awakening!  It was there all the time, covered up in all the stresses of this "give it to me now" world I was living in.  My goal in life was and is to "bring a little happiness to somebody each and every day!"

That is a pretty simple goal, you might think.  Hard to do when you are working in a job you no longer enjoy, along side others just doing it for the paycheck.

Attitude adjusted, I made up my mind it was time for a change.  Finish out the year end troll, then begin the process of finding something else to do with my life.  Another not so easy task, since I've only had three jobs in thirty years!  But then God sent me a messsenger!  That boss that was spending so much time trying to run me off finally gave up, he "eliminated my position"!

I signed all the nondisclosure documents, took my packet and headed to the door, only stopping by my office to pick up the only things I was allowed to take, two MSU Bulldawgs that my mom had given me.

As I turned the car out of the parking lot, I looked in the mirror and saw something I had not seen in a very long time, I was smiling!  The Lord works in mysterious ways.  Weeks before all I was seeing was darkness and gloom, but now, oh the sunny days ahead!

I was only 54.5 at the time.  And now at 60, I feel younger and more invigorated than ever.  I bring a smiling face and a positive attitude to each new day.  The people working at the Home Depots can't resist my charming personality, and eventually they begin to smile a bit and begin to greet me when I enter their store.

I try to leave restaurant and fast food workers in a happier mood than before they served me.

I have to admit, my "assembler job" was a challenge for my body.  Working on my feet on concrete is a killer.  Before, old age was setting in fast and hard.  After a few weeks, my body adjusted.  I didn't  lose much weight, but I have lost an inch or two, and a bunch of fat cells have turned to muscle, just a few!  And I do enjoy long soaks in a hot tub full of bubbles!

So,  it's never too late for a life change.  Whether it's job, or habits, you too can make a change.  But you gotta start somewhere, sometime, and trust me, it's NOW!

Life is so sweet!  Get out there and enjoy!