
Following my February 2010 retirement, I was pulled back into USAID part-time for about a year as a consultant to my old office to assist with proposal development. In addition, I immediately was swept up in various volunteer activities/committees/boards here at Asbury, a CCRC. I continue to serve on various committees both in and out of Asbury while also battling weeds to produce some vegetables in my garden. More recently, I've been "mentoring" elementary school kids in an after-school program, and recently was shifted to be a teacher-aide for the middle school's ESOL program. I also stay active in various roles with Friends of Tanzania.
Fortunately, my health has been pretty good, with daily exercise classes or workouts at Asbury. I did have a major left ankle operation in 2010 to no ill effect except for needing to continue to work on balance. Last year a torn ligament in my right wrist meant eliminating my burgeoning return to tennis, sigh... Travel has kept up, with annual trips to the West Coast to see various branches of family and annual trips abroad, both on our own and occasionally with groups.
We started a monthly "ethnic lunch" group that meets at various ethnic restaurants that the area is filled with, and attend a monthly ROMEO (Retired Old Men Eating Out) lunch group with a core membership of former AED employees and others with both Peace Corps and international development backgrounds. USAID alumnae/I have coalesced as an NGO and I have recently taken on trying to be helpful to a mentee FSO.