Retirement

By Ms. Nandini Krishnan

Caught up in the daily rush of routine, Often tired and wanting a breather, Craving for some relaxed undemanding time, But there never seemed to be an end to this Ferris-wheel ride . A glimmer in the sky one day shone, The day he told me its time to go, It's time that we retired and got back home, To enjoy all that we had earned of our own.

With excitement and joy we got through each day, The tedious procedures of sorting, discarding and winding up, Heavy heartedly saying our goodbyes, To the strong ties harvested in two and half decades amongst the sand dunes.

Deep in our hearts simultaneously grew, The excitement of a new routine-free life,

No alarm clocks nor time bound schedules,

That would chain our enjoyments anymore.

We landed in our home town finally ,

Into the welcoming arms of our mothers,

With the busy schedule of setting up a new life,

Days flew by without a moment of leisure.

We travelled near and far enjoying nature at its best,

Met close and distant relatives and friends,

We never realised that a year and half had flown by,

So engrossed we were in our retirement.

Then slowly in one of us the ugly worm raised its head ,

Boredom to this life began to creep in,

The question in that mind kept repeating itself ,

Why not we go back to where we came from.

Differences of opinions between the two of us on this,

Led to discussions, arguments and cold wars,

Confusion reigned in our minds over our choices,

To go with our commitments or our desires.

Then once again Fate played her cards,

Giving us a chance to handle our karma from our home ,

We were indeed overjoyed beyond words can express,

To be one of the few to be blessed by this arrangement.

We now continue to spend our days wisely,

Balancing our time between our choices,

Reminding ourselves that life is too short to while away ,

And every second spent together now is precious.

Money nor career commitments can ever replace,

The wonderful memories that we weave at ease in our retirement,

Every trip, every day is a conscious effort to further build happiness, In the lovely married life we have lived for 36 years and will live together for many more.

By Ms. Nandini Krishnan