By Nora Fields

Mornings here begin the same way every day. My husband is up by 6 a.m. I am not — if I can help it.

Armed with my readers and a cup of coffee, I curl up in my usual spot on the couch, where the television volume is already set to 16. Following our traditional “Good morning, Lovey,” he asks what I have planned for the day.

Yes, that’s his pet name for me — borrowed straight from Gilligan’s Island. For that reason, from this point forward, I’ll refer to my husband as Thurston.

Although he should already know my routine, I proceed to rattle it off.  I start off with Wordle.  Then Duolingo to protect my position in the Obsidian League.  After two years of daily lessons, I still can’t speak a lick. Still, I feel better doing that rather than just scrolling Facebook mindlessly.  While I’m on my phone, I’ll skim over political debates and miracle weight loss recipes, diagnose my own medical conditions, and learn fascinating facts about people I’ve never met.  If things go as planned, I will get dressed and make the bed before 10 a.m.

Today I need to order a new clock from Amazon — one with big neon numbers we can read from across the bedroom in the dark. No need for an alarm feature since we’re both awake long before it goes off anyway. While I’m there, I’ll likely discover several other items I didn’t know I needed until they popped up “on sale.” After one or two uses, they’ll quietly wait for a ride to Goodwill with the stash of things from the “old” house that I no longer need.

With my laundry area in the basement, at least I’ll get in some cardio and strength training in hauling clothes up and down the stairs.   

“I think that covers it,” I tell him. “Why do you ask?”

“Well,” he says, “I was hoping you would have a minute to help me look for my glasses.”

“You mean the ones hanging from your shirt collar?”  True story.

As you can see, retirement is a high-intensity lifestyle.

When your retired friends say they’re busier now than they were when they were working, believe them. We’re exhausted — just differently.

Retirement isn’t lazy.  It’s just louder, slower — and a lot harder to see without glasses.

We’re all aging.
Let’s do it out loud.

— Nora

As published in The County Journal on May 9, 2026