Just so you can refer to the original it’s The Ten Best Questions the retired person can ask him/herself. And why am I referring to this now? Well see the picture above in last week’s Guardian. Hey I thought that’s my idea. Still no regrets that we didn’t publish it way back when but, prompted by the above article, it did set me thinking whether I would write the same book or even blog today or even the same questions?
Hardly any, make that none, of the questions in the article itself seemed appropriate for a person in my position – 76 and a bit fragile. Even my own questions from all those years ago and in the above blog a mere 7 years ago (in 2017) seem a little dull. Is there a question I still like and which might help my situation 7 years older and with considerably more health problems?
Hmm, well that old favourite of mine the scale question (rate your life on a scale of 1 to 10 where 1 is bad and 10 is good) still has a few legs. Right now, as I wrote in my last blog, I’m struggling to find any number above 6 and a half as applying to my and Mrs Summerhouse’s life but I can work with it. The follow-up questions to this score are as follows. What is it about my life that leads me to score it 6 and a half? In other words what are the good bits?
Easy, the luck I’ve had with relationships – Mrs SH, daughter, son and their partners – supportive and loving, you can’t go wrong with that can you? No real money worries and a nice warm, leak-proof (so far) house to hunker down in especially with the recent freezing weather. I’m surrounded by lots of books, CDs, DVDs, a variety of TV channels. Old-fashioned but they do the job. And of course not forgetting my beautiful dogs. One of whom is lying beside me as I write this. The other one on the other sofa. That’s nice.
As is a bit of travel there are trips to the barn, to Derbyshire and, before Christmas, a night in a hotel in Scarborough. So maybe half a point there. Writing this blog, not bad and, just getting in the positive column, plans for the vineyard and making a little music. Hmm, I’m struggling from here on to stay positive. But that’s why I scored it as a 6 and a half.
That was the easy bit, the positive side. Well then again maybe not I actually found focusing on the positive quite difficult as if by doing so I was asking for trouble, just tempting fate. So maybe the negative aspects will be easier. Kind of more relaxing. But then the second follow-up question to the scale isn’t really a negative because the question is what would move that score just one point (or even half a point) further towards the 10? In the context of the new year you might even call them resolutions.
So to improve that score I would need to get started on maintaining our vineyard (with help from the children) and somehow, in some form, keep the music-making going although I confess this is going to be hard as, since my last blog with a picture of my recording gizmo, I’ve done nothing of the sort. The fact that all this stuff is up in the attic and that it’s been cold generally and specifically up there on floor three so to speak, hasn’t helped.
And those actions don’t include anything new that might improve the score – time away in a cottage, joining the Forest old boys group in a more active contributory way, going back to my folk fiddle group. No doubt if I thought a bit more I might come up with something different / new that would improve my life score by that illusive one point. You’ll just have to keep reading this blog to see what (if anything) I think of.