Had a busy day yesterday. Got a lot done around the house - sheet changes, blanket washing, vacuuming, straightening up, clothes laundry, mail and catalog/advertisement sorting, paid some bills, etc. DH did the outside stuff including running to the dump, vacuuming the pool, some errands, and had to meet his sister to sign some estate papers, etc. We both got tired and dozed a bit in the sunroom. Decided to order out instead of go out as by the time we saw DD off to work, we knew lines would be long and didn’t want to deal with that. Got Italian (chicken parm for him and chicken marsala for me), Caesar salad and garlic bread. All very good.

We only ate half so will get another meal out of them.
This coming week I have to take care of some of Mom’s estate stuff. Ugh. I hope I never have to deal with something like this again.

I have to go to her bank (where this one lady is like Gladys Kravitz) and take out her money, then go to another bank (better there but did have problems with one guy there in relation to all this who my lawyer recently said was wrong, which felt good, but he made me so mad at the time) and open an estate account, do some transfers there, etc. I did get a check from an insurance company I’ve been battling the other day, finally, have to deposit that. (And thankfully they made it out the way I asked them to which the girl I was dealing with insisted they couldn’t all along.) Got two bills from the lawyer totaling almost $500 for phone calls and emails he answered from me.

Ready for this to be done. Still have to also deal with the car (clean and sell). There are more steps once all this is all taken care of. I’ve realized that emotionally, this has taken a lot out of me, for a long time. Caring physically for Mom was easier than this part.
DH and I talked a little bit about our future retirement last night (still several years away) and thinking of dealing with all that sort of brought up similar feelings. (No wonder sleep is off!) I think financially we’ll be in pretty good shape, but if all goes as we’re thinking, it might just be an issue for health insurance for me for a few years. I could get it through work if I work part time, but I will make too much if I am getting SS (before full benefit - DH and I are five years apart so he will be at full benefit at that time). So will have to play with the numbers there. Our first goal was to get our kids through college (which we did

) and then tackle this. We’ve just had to deal with these parent issues since, so once these are settled we can think more about it and sit down with someone at some point to get a concrete plan going. One of the big questions I think will be whether to stay in this house or not. It’s relatively small, but the bills are high. (High COL area in general.) We know we don’t want to go out of state. Might not mind, but don’t want to be away from kids/future grandkids. Getting away for winters might be a possibility. We also have a legal in law apt we could rent (and an income from that would be nice), but it would depend who was there as it is quite a big part of our own home. I would love something newer and smaller where outdoor things (snow, grass) are taken care of. There’s an area we like but not sure it will be affordable. Will have to crunch the numbers. (Real estate values have accelerated in the past 8 months.) But I think about how much this house will cost to run with the utilities being so high, and repairs of an older house factored in, too. (And the thought of emptying it out after over 32 years is

, of course!) I imagine many of you have either been through this or are thinking about this, as well.
QOTD: How did you/will you manage retirement?
I mentioned the other day I’d had a tough week. And I wasn’t even talking about any of this, just work.

Well, like a godsend, out of the blue yesterday morning I got an unexpected phone call with some work news that made me feel quite happy! It’s funny how that seems to happen to me whenever I need it most.

I do believe in the power of the universe. (I’d say prayer, too, but this wasn’t something I’d even prayed about!) I’ve tried to impart to my kids that, if you live a good life, and give of yourself, good things come back to you. DS had a little trouble recently he was up for a job that was a very good opportunity for him, and it was great that his application was chosen out of many. Unfortunately he had to withdraw his name because of a physical issue that came up that he is now in physical therapy for. Watching him fighting to try to overcome it, and the realization that he had to withdraw, was heartbreaking. But I tried to tell him that, for whatever reason, it wasn’t meant to be right now, and to stick with the faith that a different time and path is meaningful, too - you just have to believe it. When one door closes, another opens, etc. Any good thoughts or prayers for him will be appreciated. He wishes to serve (and does in his current job, too) and I know he’ll be good at it, as he is kind and compassionate, and very devoted to whatever he sets his mind to. Thank you.