The Subject Will Always Be Roses

Get it right this time.

Who says you have to accept retirement graciously?  I never did.  If you don’t get it right first time out, don’t worry.  When it comes to retirement, you have years to work on it until you finally get it right. 

 

For years, I’ve asked myself what I should do in retirement because I wasn’t prepared.  I was one of those people who still felt I had a lot to offer and could still make a difference.  My ego was still at a job I could no longer physically do, and as I tried to look for work, maybe it showed when I went on interviews.  My face and my body language told the interviewers that I would be unhappy as a desk jockey.  They knew that, but I refused to believe it.

Baldo's rose nursery has over 1,000 starts.   

   

Recently, a visit to Baldo’s garden told me that Baldo would not have any problems retiring.  In fact, he was doing everything right.  After years on the job, he is planning to retire in August or September.  And the two-acre retirement property he and his wife had chosen will be waiting.  To get in gear, he has already been working on the garden.

I met Baldo years ago, when I retired in 2002 and moved back to Sacramento.  After living in a place which only saw rain 11 months of the year, I was interested in the types of roses which would thrive in Sacramento.  I found Baldo’s website and emailed him.  Even back then, he had a lot of enthusiasm for roses and was a wealth of information.  I didn’t have a pad and pen ready at the time, but I remember him giving me the names of sun-loving, Sacramento-friendly roses.  I couldn’t keep up with him, and  I wasn’t surprised as over the years, I’d see him at rose events.

So, with the knowledge of Baldo’s retirement plans, I’ve realized they aren’t different from most of the people I’ve met who are good with retirement.  If you find things you are passionate about, they will most likely keep your interest during retirement. 

The problem with me is that I like to chase anything which looks interesting.  And if things don’t work out, I walk.  Yes, for my parents, I was a pretty expensive kid.

So when you see magazine articles and books trying to get you to retire early, ignore the siren songs.  And when it comes to needing a million dollars by the time you retire, that’s is a myth, too.  I am living, breathing and walking proof that you don’t need a million dollars to retire.  Sure, it would be nice to have a huge wad of cash set aside for retirement, but it’s not a requirement these days.  People are working longer than planned, but now that I’m into retirement and finally enjoying it, I’m not one of them.

I don’t want to work.  I don’t want to answer to a boss or an alarm clock.  I don’t want to wear a monthly RT pass around my neck.   Most of all, I don’t want to start my day stuffing my legs into pantyhose and my poor, aching feet into high heels.  Don’t wanna, don’t wanna, don’t wanna.

If money is what I need, there are choices.  I can tap savings.  I can feel deprived and scrimp, sacrifice and deprive myself of things.   Usually, if I wanted something enough, I somehow got the cash, anyway.  I can proudly say I can get it without having to rob a bank.  But as a precaution, I’ve always had regular plates instead of personal ones for a quick getaway.  

I now have this interest for home garden tours because each one is different.  Exploring Baldo’s garden was pure pleasure.  Not only can you get ideas for your own garden, Baldo is Baldo.

“Don’t believe anything you read,” he advises us as we picked our way through the horse manure he had scattered among his roses that morning.

In the valley heat, he suggests, “Let the plants tell you when they need water.”

He invites us to eat the 40-some varieties of organic blueberries which are heavy with fruit.

“In September, the watermelon will be ready, and we’ll have a party.”

 

He is still generous with gardening tips and is very approachable.  If you are a gardener, you know a garden is an on-going project which is never finished.  What makes Baldo’s garden special are the other gardens found within one acre with another acre just waiting for expansion.  There is a vegetable garden, the beginnings of a vineyard, a fruit orchard, and cactus.  Baldo does a lot of cooking with cactus and has recipes to share.

But since Baldo happened to get retirement right the first time, knowing this makes a stroll through the garden even better.   But don’t linger too long because he may put you to work.