Friday, August 21, 2026

Fly On The Wall At A Retirement/Birthday Party

Welcome to another edition of Fly On The Wall group blog postings hosted by Karen of Baking In A Tornado. Today, three of us are welcoming you into our homes to see what a fly might see---or overhear!



This past month, the fly has witnessed the beginning of my husband's new journey into retirement (finally), which coincided with his birthday. And boy, did we celebrate! Friends, family, and the KOI community where he worked all showed up to spread the love for Mr Mac. The champagne was flowing, the food was phenomenal, and the decorations so lovely, thanks to our friends at KOI who hosted the gathering. We started at 1:00 p.m. and closed it down at 9:00 p.m. after speeches, toasts, dancing, far too many tequila shots, and a whole lot of off-key karaoke, haha. Definitely one of the best parties I've ever been to. 

But the most touching moment was the moving speeches my 4 adult children (and our unofficial adopted son Rob) gave to honor their father---each bringing tears and laughter to everyone watching this beautifulness unfold. Mr. Mac truly felt the love, and that's all that mattered. 

So, we are adjusting to this new phase in life. Mr. Mac wasn't quite sure what to do with himself the first few weeks of retirement, but he's catching on now--which means he walks with me early every morning (gotta keep that body moving!) and knows to stay out of my home office when the door is closed. Of course, this was a challenge in the beginning---he kept walking in to give me updates: "I just finished weeding the garden....going to take a shower now...... making a bologna sandwich because I'm hungry; do you want one?.....where do you keep the carrot peeler?.....what time does the dog need his medication?.... just finished loading the dishwasher....are we out of ketchup?"..... He's getting better, though, and at least he's not sitting on his bum all day playing tank wars on his iPad.


. Rather than delve into the funny conversations the fly overheard at the retirement/birthday party, I'll just do a massive photo dump instead.... scroll on ahead if it bores ya!












What an extraordinary month it has been--I feel incredibly grateful to be living this beautiful life (Thank you, Jesus!!). However, it's still hot as Hades in Florida (and not so fun), so we will not be camping again until October. Work also slows down for me in August/September as many of my editors are taking their much-deserved vacations. With all this free time, I guess I don't have any excuses NOT to clean out my closets. Perhaps I can get my new "man of leisure" to help me organize the closet chaos.....fingers crossed!


***WANT MORE MENO MAMA?? My latest recioe piece is up on AARP/The Ethel--this one is about outdoor cooking while you're on the road and you can read it HERE 

Follow the fly to these other homes to see what they've been up to:

Baking In A Tornado                                https://www.BakingInATornado.com

                               

On the Border                                         https://dlt-lifeontheranch.blogspot.com/

 



           Happy 70th birthday and Happy Retirement, Mr. Mac, my love!

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