For forty-five years, I was a teacher, and now I am retired. I have taught elementary school, high school, and adult ESL classes. I have been married for 45 years to Jack, and we have four daughters and eight grandchildren.
If you are wondering about the “old girl new tricks” title, let me explain. I am officially a senior citizen!! I have a card from the Government of Canada which states that I am “old”. To tell the truth, most days I feel old.
But, today this “old girl” is starting her new life, without work, report cards, parent/teacher interviews, staff meetings, and bells. I am writing again, painting watercolour pictures, taking classes at the senior citizen’s centre, riding the bus at a discount, and I know every Seniors’ Day at every major store and what the discount is. So “new tricks”.
Old Girl New Tricks 
Thanks Carla. I’m hoping you’ll follow along.
Congratulations to starting a blog! I think this is a wonderful idea! 🙂 (I came here via Carla’s blog.)
My dad is retired for two years now, and like you, he’s doing a lot of things that came short when he was still working – going fishing more often, meeting friends, learning to sleep in 😉 and reading more. He also got a diving licence and goes diving once a week in summer in the Baltic Sea (my parents live in northern Germany), and recently he started playing golf. It’s so important to keep your life fulfilled with things you enjoy, and after so many years of working, you’ve absolutely deserved it! 🙂
Carla is proud of me for doing this blog and I’m proud of her for doing hers.
Sounds like your Dad has the right idea. It’s important to feel fulfilled! I hope you can get some ideas for him from my blog.
I’m sure I will! 🙂
I’m notifying my favorite bloggers one by one, since I couldn’t figure out how to get links to work (I’m technically challenged) – You’ve been nominated by me for the Versatile Blogger Award. If you want to take advantage of this dubious honor… Write a post that mentions notquiteold as your nominator, nominate 15 other posts (a lot I know) and tell your readers seven things about yourself that they may not know. Congrats, and I love your blog.
I think I’ll take you up on that. My daughter Carla, herself a blogger, will help me tonight when she gets home from work. Thanks for the huge compliment as I think your blog is the greatest. I’ve never once been disappointed!
Hi there–came here from ‘notquiteold’s blog…great site! I look forward to coming back again to read more from a fellow Canadian!
Thanks, Sylvia. I’m going to check your site out as well. Isn’t Nancy great!!!
God bless you.
Thank you, Scott.
Hi again, Maureen….have you thought about adding a “Follow Me via email” button somewhere on your blog? Or if you already have one, could you direct it to me as my feeble eyes can’t find it….I would love to be notified via email every time you post a new entry….(that tells you that I really enjoy your writing!) Just a thought….
Hi Sylvia: Thanks for reading my posts. I love your writing as well. When you amke a comment on my post, just under the box, there is a sentence where you can click and it says “notify me of new posts via email.” Hope that helps, but maybe I should try to make it easier by having it right on the page. I’ll get one of my techie daughters to help me with it. – Maureen
Enjoyed finding your blog. As a fellow Canadian cotton-head, I appreciate your enthusiasm for learning all the new tricks that comes with retirement. I call it my “arrivement”.
Hi Pat. Thanks for reading. My grandson says that I was a teacher but now I’m tired! I love “arrivement”. I’ll check out your blog as well.
I am following your blog now. I have not reached arrivement yet. I’m old enough but still working. I’m glad to connect with you. I’m in St. Louis in the States.
I am following your blog also. I am now living in Ottawa, the capital of Canada. I have also lived in Nova Scotia, where I was born and raised, and in Quebec, Manitoba, and Alberta. I lived in Zambia (East Africa) for two years and also in Naperville, Illinois, for two years. I am 68 years old and have been a retired teacher since I turned 65. I am looking forward to reading your blog posts.
I am an internet friend of Jo Heistand an author who lives in St. Louis.
How interesting to live in so many places. Envious. I’ve always been in St. Louis. It’s a big city. I do not know Jo Heistand but I will look her up. So nice to meet you.
I’ve lived in Ottawa for just over a year, but two of my four daughters have lived here for years. It’s a beautiful city (most of the time) and we love it here. Winters can be difficult, though. – Maureen
Hi,
Great blog. Just came across your blog and wanted to know if you would be interested in guest blogging on a new retirement site at retirementandgoodliving.com. If interested please drop us a note via the contact page on the site.
Thanks,
Simone
I will go to the site, check it out, and let you know via the website. Thanks for reading. – Maureen
Go for it! The more you do, the better (younger!) you’ll feel. I’ve got eighteen years on you; I assure you the next fifteen or twenty years or so can be the time of your life! 😀
Gosh, Nina, you sure don’t look like you’re 88. Or did you mean that you are 18 years younger than I am? Not sure. But thanks for reading my posts. I have started following your blog and have been enjoying your posts.
No, I’m not 88. I assumed you retired at 65 when I said I’ve got 18 years on you. If you had read my Page captioned “Why Blog About Getting Old,” which was written in 2013, you’d have seen that I was 82 then, which makes me 83 now. Whatever age you are (70?), I wish I WERE 18 years younger. But we can’t have everything, can we? 😀
P.S. I know you’re following; I thought I thanked you on your own blog when you began doing that. Did I somehow forget? If so, thank you again now. I’m really glad the posts are giving you pleasure.
I did retire at 65. I am now pushing 70. Two months to go. In any case, you look good!
Lovely attitude looking forward to reading your posts and learning some of those tricks from a girl learning similar tricks in the west of Ireland. Happy days to you. Kind regards Kathy.
Thank you and welcome. My husband’s family is from Westmeath in Ireland. Came to Canada in 1912.
Good footballers from Westmeath , thanks for the welcome , Ceide Mile a Failte to you also. kathy.
Maureen, you are not under a snow bank, are you??
Hi there! I look forward to reading all your blogs! I, too, am retired (newly so) and we are finding our way in this new lifestyle they call ‘retirement’! I also have a blog set up to help me cope. Check it out if you would like and maybe we can become retirement buddies! Take good care!
The Senior Class…Navigating the Golden Years.