I May Re-Tire and Re-Calibrate But I May Never Retire

by Band of Banners
(Philippines)

Selfie taken two years ago.

Why would you ever want to retire?

You're that tired?

I don't blame you, though.

I just turned 56 this September and I felt I've been like Atlas carrying the world and her burping population on my shoulders all that time.

Of course, it doesn't help that the top psychic in my country says I'm an "old" soul.

The thing is, and it's not because there's something wrong with my thinking, I really keep feeling younger as I get older.

It's really getting weirder by the day.

As such, retiring seems to be out of the question for me when I hit my 60s.

Sure, I've got another four years to make up my mind.

Will see what happens then, but for now, being a late bloomer and all that, I can't seem to even think of retiring.

I'd rather re-tire or re-calibrate instead.

I know...I know...it sounds like we're a bunch of second-hand cars.

What does re-calibrate mean anyway?

To know that, we look for the meaning of "calibrate".

Google says, to calibrate is to "correlate the readings of (an instrument) with those of a standard in order to check the instrument's accuracy".

Huh?

I still don't get it.

Anyway, to re-calibrate means to do the calibration thing again.

So, it has something to do with instruments and accuracy.

Now, I'm beginning to really feel like a car.

Serves me right for bringing this up.

But I suppose, re-tiring ain't so bad.

It's like changing a set of tires to something with brand-new treads.

That means, we get a better grip and traction on the road.

Sounds cool, yes?

And if we re-calibrate, we probably re-set our instruments for better accuracy and precision.

Aha!

That means, after we re-tire and re-calibrate, we'll feel kinda brand-new.

So, I suppose, we can re-tire our body and re-calibrate our brains.

That ought to give us a new lease on life.

Sounds fun!

Never mind if we sound like second-hand cars.

There's a whole bunch of us who love buying slightly-used or formerly-loved items from thrift shops, estate sales, or used car shops.

We have great respect for such treasures.

I honestly believe, whether it's a used car, clothes, furniture, or whatever, there's still life in those things.

And oftentimes, the dealers, sellers, and even collectors remark at how much more durable older stuff are.

True, true, true.

So why are you retiring?

Just re-tire and re-calibrate instead.

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