Empty-nester chores

She has certain things around the home that she prefers to do, and I have certain chores around the home that she tells me to do. Such is the life of the empty nester. You know, adults who no longer have children living at home. We are also referred to as DINKS. That stands for Double Income, No Kids. I’ll leave this one for another day.

We begin each day at a slightly different time. She seems to wake up a few minutes after five. I slowly roll out of bed after six, or whenever I have to relieve bladder pressure once again. When I finally do make an appearance in the living room, she is usually in her recliner, having her coffee, making constant observational remarks to, or asking questions of, the hosts for Fox and Friends. I make a brief stop at her station, offer a morning kiss and a pleasant greeting.

One must not begin any given day without one’s first cup of coffee. I program the Keurig. We, I mean SHE, recently upgraded our K-cup machine to a new high-tech model that scans a QR code on top of the K-cup, proudly displays the name on it’s li’l L.C.D. screen. It then wants me to program the size of the cup I wish to brew, how strong I want it brew, and how hot I want it. Cool, eh? Meh. I retrieve the paper from the front stoop, read it, and try to complete the New York Times crossword puzzle. I repeat the K-cup sequence as often as necessary until I’m fully awake. During inclement weather, I turn on the trusty desktop, then read the Yahoo news of the day. During warmer weather, like now, I eat a quick breakfast, then head out into the yard or the garage to piddle around with whatever I still need to piddle around with. This routine usually takes me up to lunch.

Her day goes a bit differently. After the pre-requisite time in front of Fox News, she will join me at our kitchen table for breakfast, take her morning meds, and the required morning feeding of Valor, our elderly, cream-colored Shiba Inu. (A quick sidebar here. A mature, rescue Shiba Inu would be a great companion dog for any elderly/mature person/couple. These dogs don’t bark, they don’t like to take walks, they’re very loyal and affectionate [in their OWN way]). In inclement weather, as I said earlier, she will extend her recliner time to yell at Fox. She is as entertaining as the Fox News segments. During nicer weather she tends to our many planted and potted plants and flowers.

On occasion, we combine forces for some of these morning tasks. She often does the “easy” crossword puzzle on the comic strips page while I work on the NYT puzzle. She will often join me on our backyard deck for a cup of morning coffee. I can’t tell you how enjoyable it is to sit quietly and listen to your neighbors rushing off to work. (Did I mention we are both retired?) We both enjoy feeding and watching our backyard friends, birds, bunnies and squirrels. We listen to the first siren of the morning, wondering if it’s for fire or police or ambulance call. We often discuss world events that impact us and ours. Yes, without adult children or grandkids living at home, we still manage to pack in a full list of gratifying and satisfying chores.

George Keck is an Army retiree, a drummer, and Lawton resident, off and on, since 1964.