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Mom saw me typing

“Are you working?”

“No I’m writing.”

“Are you retired?”

I puzzled, looked and then I said

“This is what I’d do if I were retired.

For example,

On Thursday I went to Newport for lunch with Charlotte

On Friday I went sailing

That night I flew to Chicago to see a friend.

Next to Rochester to reconnect with family.

I cleared my calendar next week.

I’ll fly to San Francisco to connect with friends.

We are on a board together. We’ll have a board meeting.

Charlotte and the little kids will fly up to see Caroline at Stanford.

I am writing and performing on a schedule I have reasonable control over.

We do help a lot of people so I am always on call to help solve a problem or talk something through.

I read. I write.

I talk to friends.

I write poetry.

I laugh a lot.

I am an artist.

I am making an artful system.

That’s exactly what I’d do if I were retired.”

“Do I have enough money to retire?“

“No.”

And that is the right question.

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