I respond to a frequently asked question

My husband retired nearly two years ago.  I am frequently asked by women whose husbands are not yet retired, "How is it having a retired husband?"  Of course, I have worn out the joke, "It is twice the husband on half the income," although there is truth to that and I do feel it pretty much sums it up on my front. ;o)

Since I am asked this so often, I have pondered what kind of answer to give, something that addresses the question in a quick, concise way, but does not go on and on into any gory details.  HA!  :o)  Plus, I believe that any woman asking this question may have some passing interesting in my situation but I have decided that she is actually projecting into the future to a time when her husband is retired and she is asking me whether she should dread her husband's retirement or look forward to it.  So really, whether B's retirement is enhancing my life is secondary in responding to the REAL question, because whether we are doing well or not with this life change is no indication as to whether the questioner and her husband will have an identical response to retirement.

So I have come up with my answer to this question-behind-the-question and it, of itself, is a question.  Drum roll, please!  How are your Saturdays (or the days when the two of you are together all day long, and not necessarily vacation days)?  The answer to this Saturdays question is the answer to the REAL question I have been asked.  Put a whole series of Saturdays together back-to-back in an unending succession leading off into that retirement sunset, and there you have it, "retirement," and there you have a mystery of the universe revealed by yours truly, Purveyor of Truth. :o)