Den and I are back at school!

I had been excited all day just thinking about going to school with Dennis.
I love sitting side by side as students.

So we are taking an 8 week class on Retirement, all the phases of it.  And at the end of the 8 weeks we are suppose to walk away with a legal will. 

The teacher...by the way her name is Spring Sun and she is from Paradise, Ca.   Yes, she said that's her real name.
She begins the class by talking about the oldest person on record.  She was a little French lady named Jeanne Calment.
She lived to 122 years and 164 days old! 
She outlived her only child, and her grandchildren.  Mrs. Sun, our teacher, explained that this woman lived capably on her own til she was about 113, and then she entered a nursing home til she died at 122.  


At this point, Den leaned over and said to me,  
"There was a guy who was interested in her, but he was only 110, and she considered him too immature." 

Now this may not seem very funny to you, and I don't know why it did to me, but I could not stop laughing.  Dennis has this affect on me often.  But in class, it made me feel like I was back in 8th grade, talking and laughing on the back row.  

 Oh, and here's something that doesn't make any sense at all.  
She smoked until she was 117!
She started at age 21, and she claimed it was just 2 cigarettes a day,  but still. 
That's 96 years of smoking!


Here are some other things we learned at our first class:


1.  Just as we are "The Baby Boomer Generation", our parents were called "The Silent Generation."  (I had never heard this phrase...'the silent generation', so I asked the teacher what exactly that meant and she didn't know either....Do you know?)


2.  Of all the things that start a mid-life crisis, retirement is #3. (Who am I to say, but isn't retirement age a bit too old for a mid-life crisis?)


3.  For the 1st time, in the year 2007, the number of people over 65 exceeded the number of people under 16.  (She didn't have the stats since 2007 but it's expected to be about the same...The baby boomers have taken over.)


4.  Retirement is the time to INCREASE your social network.  She suggested using Facebook to connect with others.  


5.  "When you retire, you switch bosses from the one who hired you to the one who married you."  Gene Perret


We were suppose to write down what we consider a "good retirement."  Of course I looked over at Den's paper. He had 5 goals written, but my favorite he wrote was,  "Doing Honey Dos." 


Can't wait til next Thursday!
And, can I just say, Den is the best student I have ever sat next to in class. 

14 comments:

Dennis said...

After hearing about this 122 year old woman smoking until age 117, I was tempted to stop at a local 7-11 and pick up a couple packages of Camel's.

-Den

Grandma Honey said...

No you weren't!
Don't pay any attention to Dennis today. :)

Dad and Susan said...

Jill, Your dad thought #5 meant that the minister that performed your marriage would now be your boss!!! He didn't get it! We laughed and laughed about that one!

Good for you two taking a class together to prepare for this "next phase."

I think Dennis's comment in class was hilarious. Keep reporting on his humorous take on things. (The pressure is on now Dennis!)

Odd that the Mrs. Sun from Paradise (just up the hill from Chico) is using this woman as an example. She ended up not needing a will at all! Or, maybe that's the point--that you have to live that long not to need one.

Love, Dad and Susan

grandmapeg said...

Reading Dennis' comment above about being tempted to pick up some Camels tells me he has been hanging around Richard too long and acquiring his sense of humor. The class sounds fun but you two youngsters better not be caught talking again :-)) Keep us posted on what else you learn.

Grandma Honey said...

Really? You want to know what else we learn in our class? I was hoping someone would ask that!

Richard said...

Dennis is beginning to sound like a character out of The Manchurian Candidate...hopefully he has only been programmed for good.

darlene said...

We did that. (Draw up a will, I mean, not the class.) It felt good to get that taken care of. We had a great legal person walk us through it.

C Dawn's bucket said...

I want to know what else you learn! Let me live vicariously through you okay?

Cynthia

Mary said...

We'll probably do that when I get closer to retirement. I'm sure I'll be working at least 6 more years (until Dylan graduates), and maybe as long as 11 more years (for full retirement, groan).

At least you're sitting next to the smartest kid in class so you cheat off him!

Kim said...

Oops - forgot to sign my name on the last comment. I'm glad you and dad are taking the class together!
Kim

Grandma Honey said...

Cynthia~ You have talked me into it...I will report back. Thanks for being interested.

Darlene~ We are also doing a health directive. Did you also do that part of the will? (I must be getting older...a few years ago I couldn't even talk about such things!)

Mary~ Hard to believe Dylan graduates in just 6 years...he's your baby boy!

Kim~ If you were in class with us, you would be in hysterics over the things your Dad says. At one point Mrs. Sun asked what else we could do to prepare for retirement. Your Dad piped up and said, "Go to therapy." She took it very seriously and kept referring back to his comment that we may need therapy! :)

Richard~ Den is in the other room googling The Manchurian Candidate, trying to find out what kind of character you think he is.

Susan Anderson said...

That is really a fun thing to do together. I loved his comment, too. I would have been giggling right along with you...

=)

Kris said...

I can totally picture this all. I'm cracking up just reading this post. You know, as a former teacher myself, I say, "There's always one in every class..." :)

pebble said...

If you want to know more about the Silent Generation you might like this article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silent_Generation
or this article from Time Magazine.
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,878847,00.html

They have also been nicknamed The Greatest Generation, which I think does future generations a disservice...but they have done so much to make America strong...so there you go. Go Mom and Dad!
I have really enjoyed your blog today Jill!
Smiles,
Melinda

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