A New Chapter, A New Blog

I recently retired - and by "recently", I mean a week ago - so retirement is still pretty new to me, and I'm not entirely sure what to make of it.

I decided shortly before I finished my job that I'd prefer to refer to my new status as "repurposed"  because what I have in mind for my future doesn't seem to align with most people's idead of retirement. For instance, I don't intend to stop working - just (mostly) stop being paid for work - and I won't be traveling much for the next while. 

A few of my friends and family have asked me whether I feel like I'm on vacation. I don't really. I'm too darn busy doing chores left undone over the past few months. What I do feel is a tremendous sense of spaciousness - of finally being free to tackle tasks that require more time and attention than I've had to devote to them.

So far, what I'm enjoying most is being able to spend more time with my husband and dog. Getting up early because I want to and not because I have to is pretty terrific too. And I look forward to  becoming more engaged in my community over the next year.

But first things first. My job took a lot out of me in the past couple of years, so I need to spend a little time recovering physically and emotionally before I take on a lot of new responsibilities. Given that, I don't plan to make any long-term volunteer or work commitments for at least six months. I care deeply about lots of issues - including climate change, social justice, and electoral reform - but am not yet sure how I want to contribute to addressing them. In any case, I'm determined to set aside plenty of time for family and friends, gardening, exercise, and creative activities. The tricky bit will be finding the right balance.

Given all that, I've decided to keep my short-term goals simple. I'll try to spend a few hours each day seeing to chores and exercising, and the rest of my time hanging out with people I care about, doing various creative activities, reading, and "following my nose" to see where it takes me.

My hope is that this blog will help me reflect on what I'm learning along the way so that over time I will begin to focus more of my energy and attention on the things that matter most. Stayed tuned.