Hello amazing friends! The calendar has turned and it is now November. The leaves have turned and now, mostly fallen-it is (finally) raining here in central Ohio as I type this and the leaves are definitely coming down.
November is all about family, football, food and faith. That’s how I see it. Before we know it, it will be Thanksgiving week. By the way, “Turkey Day” is 3 weeks from TOMORROW. It was always my favorite week of the year when the kids were growing up. They would be off school that week, so I always took that week as vacation. We all hung out together. Went shopping-oh my, I remember going to midnight madness at the Huntington Mall for Black Friday! Anyone else go there and get caught up in all the whackiness? Anyhow, we usually found a movie to go to that week and the food? YES!!!! ALL the food…all week!
What does all of this have to do with the title of today’s blog you ask. Well, when I mentioned some of those memories, how did you FEEL? I’ve been formally retired now for 3 months. Hard to believe. Whenever I run into someone I haven’t seen in a while they will inevitably ask me, “How does it FEEL to be retired?” My answer is usually, “I don’t know. I’m still learning.” Or, “I’m learning my way through it. It’s a work in progress.”
Let’s go back to that central question though. “How does it FEEL?” “How do you FEEL?” As I think about these two questions I prefer to focus on two words: “how” and “feel.” “How” is important. Hear me out on this one. Our words, our actions and inactions, our body language(I see you Mr. or Mrs. Eye-Roller) are all being interpreted by the receiver-the one you’re having some type of interaction with at that time. “Feel” is more about their “why.” Your how dictated their why. Your body language, for example, steered their feeling to a certain place. The “how”, as you can see, is very powerful.
Why am I bringing this up today? Because, as we go into the holiday season, where we will be interacting with friends and family, possibly more closely than we do the rest of the year, be aware of your “how”. Your how can make someone’s day, and I pray that it does.
Last, I AM learning how to be retired. As I’ve mentioned before, I don’t miss the work. I do miss many of you. So, send me a text, give me a call. We will have a smile together and make each other FEEL GOOD! I love you.
Be well,
Jeff
