My Energizer Bunny

On the recommendation of a friend, another boater here at the marina, I just finished reading a "self-help" book called Younger Next Year: Live Strong, Fit, and Sexy--Until You're 80 and Beyond. It's co-authored by a former lawyer (now in his 70s) and his forty-something internist. The primary premise is that exercise -- daily exercise -- will help reverse the decay of aging. There are a lot of common sense statements about nutrition, work/play balance and social life that are boiled down to seven "rules":

1. Exercise six days a week for the rest of your life.
2. Do serious aerobic exercise (at least 45 minutes) four days a week for the rest of your life.
3. Do serious strength training, with weights, two days a week for the rest of your life.
4. Spend less than you make.
5. Quit eating crap!
6. Care.
7. Connect and commit.

The authors also prescribe a heavy dose of having fun, in work or play, and it occurred to me that my husband has found a retirement lifestyle that does both. Many post-retirement 66-year-old men (and women) might feel they've earned a life of leisure at this point. Not Bill! Who else looks forward to hot, sweaty, manual labor day after day at that age? Other than the occasional cuts, scrapes and bruises (well, okay, almost daily), his job as marina handyman has been good for him physically and mentally. He's lost quite a bit of weight, has a terrifically positive outlook, and has made some good friends.

Here's a little gallery of some of his projects:

Powerwashing all the docks, slip fingers and sidewalks on the property.

Painting all the wood around the clubhouse.

Preparing the site for and constructing the garbage corral for the more distant docks.

Constructing this roofed pergola also for the more distant docks.

Foundation for the new bicycle corral.
Bill removed all the shrubs and bark mulch, leveled the plot with a screed, and added sand prior to putting in the paving blocks.

The finished corral, very much appreciated!