The Retirement Story

“Ohh come on!!” It must have been third call from Granny for Gramps to get out of the house.

It was getting harder for Grams to adjust to his new routine. Last week, he had a big farewell at work and he had some really nice mementos to show us.

After that day, Gramps stayed perennially confused and off-beat. At first, we would go out and he would teach me old games his style - it was so much fun. He would practice rules which were never heard off (in his defence, he said that they’ve made the games more simpler for our generation), he would take me places that I had never seen before (though he mentioned to dad that we would be going close and still no one had took me there before), he taught me tricks with numbers but he was too good to match upto (because he was doing accounts for past 52 years!), he taught me so many styles - in dressing, walking, talking, cracking jokes (he emphasised these were life skills as important as breathing) - but for me, I just loved spending time with him.

But it was getting harder for him to do anything around the house. He would get irritated at the smallest provocation of an activity and lounge around TV the whole day, later, ending up in the swing at balcony.

It was getting harder for me to coarse him to take me out and now it had been a whole week without any activity together. It was dad who spotted it at first. He was getting worried because gramps had gone straight out being active to inactive. It was some retirement thing he said. But then, dad did not want to wait and watch Gramps’ just like that. He asked me if I could partake in a secret mission where I would be responsible for execution. WOW!!

The plan that was made then but today, I see that as lessons to remember, when you have people retire from their set routine into something new.

Plan:

1. Sending them off to a vacation (Follow dad’s instruction but first get Grumpy Gramps ready for it)

2. Getting membership for Gramps’ hobby classes. (I could easily find that out from Gramma)

3. Introducing him to the old people club at garden (manageable, I could ask him to accompany me to the garden and he can take it up from there.)

4. Family lunches/dinners. (Task! Specially managing it with dad and mom… But right onto it)

5. Movie dates with Gramma. (Awwww!! Prepare the movie schedule and also look up the upcoming dramas)

6. Joining Gramps’ hands with the others in the community welfare programmes (He would totally love it)

7. Some new freshness to house (Gramps could help move things around to have a fresh look to the aged house)

8. Finally, he could teach us all number games from his accounts book. (Because dad thinks I should learn to manage of money with no raise this year, only then would I get PSP this birthday…totally worth it!!)

9. Of course, grocery shopping has to be back on duty…

Things did work back then and a new routine awaited Gramp that day onward. He wasn’t lazing away anymore but as I see him today, leading the community planning committee to voice the plan to Ward Head while working out with his pals and Gramma in evenings, I see the secret mission did take off.

It really was efficient of dad to use my 14 year old self then to rectify the decaying habits of 71 years old so that the house took care of it’s liveliness and I learnt the tricks of life from the one who has lived well.

What I failed to realise then was just how things were so much fun while carrying out the mission with result so beautiful. Today I undertake the same mission called ‘work’ with so much less heart. I need to look back and take a lesson to “work” this out as well. Maybe in another article I shall share what lesson and result I achieved in the new mission.

Until then, I would love to hear from you at seshatiewords@gmail.com

You can follow me on Instagram: seshatiewords for some nice visuals and on Twitter: @seshatiewords for the wittiness of this moody brain.

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This is a page from diary of Juniper Ansley as he sits with his past.

Years into moving on independently from his family to a life-stage of setting up his own, nostalgia gets better of him. With all remedies in vain, he resorts to facing the time gone by.

What started as an introspection, now filled up dairies with lessons, insights, wisdom and inspiration that his future today, seemed brighter than ever before.

On such opportune evenings he decides to put these pages out there for the world to read and sheepishly chooses Seshatie to be his medium^^

Turning a new post as soon as he sends me another page from the Diary.

Also, I'll keep you updated about any other information on him;)

*Name changed for confidentiality concerns*