Member-only story
Life Online, Life Offline
I’m retired, what can I tell you
Share what you’re doing to spend time offline. We all spend so much time online, but what do you do when you’re not online? (Lauri Novak)
If I accept Lauri Novak’s challenge, I will have less time to do what I do when I am not online. It is easier to share what I do online; read and write Medium stories, emails, and messages for two or three hours daily. But that is not the assignment.
Although retired for many years, my life is as structured as if I were still doing the old nine-to-five routine (although it was more like eight-to-eight). I rise at dawn — usually six a.m. — then check my messages to make sure my surviving family and friends are fine. I used to read the news, but I am not a masochist and now skip that. If something catastrophic happens, my wife will surely tell me.
I prepare and serve breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I took over the kitchen after retirement because I like to cook and bake (I once worked in restaurants) and because my wife has taken on all the chores I can no longer do, or that I am really bad at. For instance, anything that requires bank statements, paying bills, using hand tools, or a knowledge of automobiles or any other machines. (Except the dishwasher. I’m good at that.)
