Sunday, August 29, 2010

Why does it take sooooo long?

Here I am... shamefaced again. I always mean to post when something is on my mind but somehow the blog is not as high on the list as it should be. How about a September 1st resolution.. just as good as January first, right?  At least once a week from now on.  I suppose I should remember that not having time means the problems of retirement are no longer the same as they were at the beginning.

I have been so busy trying to shape this new life that I suddenly realize that the time has come to, once again, pick new priorities.  l still miss my colleagues but better understand that they, and I, are walking a different paths now. It is still fun to get together, personal friendships remain, shared interests beyond the profession are more important now.  New friends have been developed. Old interests have reappeared and re-connections with old friends have occurred.  Some of the new things I tried have not continue to hold my interest or, at least, did not meet my expectations of what I wanted and needed.

So where am I now? Accepting there are things that are not as easy to do. No days have 28 hours. Choices have to be made. Family responsibilities are different than they were before. New loves of time use have grown and must be acknowledged. Family, traveling, reading, and scrapping are really of the greatest importance now.

Through the lesson I have completed at Hummie's World (http://www.hummiesworld.com) I feel great growth and a willingness to explore new ways of creating scrapbook pages.  If you haven't visited her site and seen all that she has to offer you are really missing a great bet!!  I have the feeling (although she has not shared the secret) she really does know where to find 36 hour days. I have no idea how she manages to keep her video tutorials up to date.

I am enjoying being in a book club which I was unable to do before.  I am doing some teaching at the Senior Center near here but only a  limited amount.  As a real mac person I do not like teaching in a PC lab as much.

In the four years since I retired a most amazing change has occurred among my grandchildren. They are all too grown up for me. I want my little ones back but I am not counting on it.  The oldest grandson is now married and starting a doctoral program at the University of Iowa. The next two in line have each completed college (Madison and Northwestern) and trying to find their place in the world at this difficult time. Grandson #4 is entering junior year at Indiana. Oldest grandaughter is now a sophmore at Madison.  The next 4 boys are in high school and  youngest grandaughter is in 7th. The most difficult is the youngest boy... He was 4 when I retired and had lots of time for grandma. Now he is 8, in third grade, and while he still likes to go places he really is building his own world now as well.  It blows me away that  there are now 8 drivers, one with a learning permit, and only two that have not hit the road.... SCARRY!

I think I am one of the lucky ones as I look back over the past 4 years.  I still am pretty healthy as is my husband.  Most of our children and grandchildren are healthy. But there is sadness on the health front of several so we take that a day at a time.

I guess life-long learning will always be on the forefront. Have had great trips to Ecuador, Spain, the Baltics and Canadian Rockies.  Have read some really good books as well as just fun books. Chick Lit is OK with me as well as more thoughtful ones as well.

Getting more serious of digging deeper into some software packages that can help as I work with photos... also with learning more about getting the most out of my camera. I have decided that if I were going to move to SLR it should have been done a few years ago... at the least. So I will improve how use the one I have.

And, oh yes, a knewie but goodie, has come into our home world. We have decided to do away with grass!! Well, not all of it but a lot of it by creating frames of perennial plants in our long (not too wide) and leveled back yard. that will be a muti-multi-multi year project from what I can tell at this point. But it is fun and has had us visiting many botanic gardens and enjoying them.

So to all you new retirees, hang in there. Even if you can't tell now, the fun is yet to come.

1 comment:

Cheryl said...

You should blog more! You are a good writer. I didn't realize you had such a great blog.