MARY BRASWELL: What to do, what to do?

As you read this column, I am enjoying my first Sunday of retirement. Having traveled approximately 380,000 cumulative miles from home to The Herald and back to the house over the past 19 years, I think today I will stay home.

A frequently asked question, once I decided to retire, is a puzzling one to me. “What do you plan to do?” It seems simpler for me to start with what I am not going to do.

I am not setting my alarm clock for 4:45 a.m.

I am not going to hang tomorrow’s clothes on the bedroom door every night.

I am not going to watch only half of a TV show that comes on at 10 p.m. just because I have to go to bed.

I am not going to eat as much pre-packaged, pre-cooked frozen food or take-out.

I am not not going somewhere and not doing something, because I have to work.

I am not not going somewhere or not doing something because I am too tired from working.

I am not going to tweet.

What I will do is enjoy an early morning cup of coffee with my husband of 42 years.

I will, in good time, get those closets cleaned out as well as tackle the other household chores so long neglected.

I will ride the lawn mower, something I really enjoy, and cut grass, and on any day I choose.

I will spend more time with my husband’s mother, our sole surviving parent.

I will spend more time with the three dogs, one cat and (at least for now) one donkey at our house.

I will visit my siblings, even during the week, and stay more than one night.

I will read “hold-in-your-hand” books rather than those conveniently recorded for commuters.

I will work in the overgrown flower beds.

I will swim when the weather is good and nap when it is raining.

I will read the newspaper … most days.

The years I have spent at The Albany Herald are unlike any other years of my life. I have learned so much and met some truly amazing people. The friends I have made here and in the community are priceless.

Never a big fan of change, I have ridden that tide in the newsroom more times than I ever imagined possible. The changes have been good at times and at others … It is the good times I prefer to recall.

Looking back (something I have done every Sunday since the spring of 2002), would I do it all again? Absolutely, I would.

But right now, my coffee needs refilling.