Sounds grand, doesn’t it? It’s a heady feeling. Instead of ending my work day at 6:30, it now ends at 4:30 for the next 2 days, then next week at 3:30, and then after that, 5 weeks off (maybe 4, I haven’t really counted) until I return to work for 2 mornings a week to do a short summer school session of ESL (English as a Second Language) before another 2 off and then begin my last year of work. Retirement looms closer and closer, and what is a girl to do?
Practice!
Yeah, I mean that. Practicing for retirement means finding a meaning and a purpose and a general “raison d’etre” so that life is not a series of TV and aimlessness. It doesn’t mean finding a second job or a new vocation, it means simply doing things which have value and meaning to me. Volunteer work? Maybe. What kind? Where? Why?
I have all sorts of ideas about what I want to do, and this summer, with my free time, I really want to explore things. LIke a lot of old folks free from the traces of work, travel sounds really good. Of course, photography and painting and reading. Exercise – going to the gym – long walks – hiking – socializing – thinking – making – sewing – painting – egads! My head is exploding!
Ink, Yarn & Beer 