tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904021173466473381.post8897139745307957911..comments2023-10-11T04:09:53.564-07:00Comments on materfamilias writes: Five Things (I Want To Do When I Retire) Fridaymaterfamiliashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16062766947897513369noreply@blogger.comBlogger32125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904021173466473381.post-17584149909162449322015-03-25T10:25:15.172-07:002015-03-25T10:25:15.172-07:00Keep meaning to email and see how Edmonton is goin...Keep meaning to email and see how Edmonton is going. <br />Ordinary work days are good, when they arrive, good ones even better, and all of them pay for the flights, so that's good too.<br />Here's to Dallas Road walks together, lunch, and kimchi! ;-)materfamiliashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16062766947897513369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904021173466473381.post-59910083429253297192015-03-25T10:24:26.289-07:002015-03-25T10:24:26.289-07:00My list isn't meant so much as To Do as it is ...My list isn't meant so much as To Do as it is Now I get to Play, What Will I Do?<br />I seem to have reluctantly backed up into retirement, then surprised myself by realizing how much I'm ready for it, and now barely able to wait for it to arrive.<br />Have done a bit of reading in Caribbean studies and can see why you'd want to make time for it. . . Hold onto those vague ideas and they may yet materialize. . . materfamiliashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16062766947897513369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904021173466473381.post-34567552742209824422015-03-25T08:06:35.447-07:002015-03-25T08:06:35.447-07:00Ooooh can I relate! There are days when I overflo...Ooooh can I relate! There are days when I overflow with the satisfaction and (even) joy my work brings me. Then there are days when I am glad to be working just to pay for flights to Edmonton. There are days that begin with that meltdown - so glad I'm not the only one. Today is an ordinary work day. <br />I hope that you get lots of trips to Victoria so that I can be one of the lucky friends to walk on Dallas Road and go for lunch!<br />Kimchi? You too!!!!!Pondsidehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02407539138546412482noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904021173466473381.post-72378590091939032732015-03-23T10:07:48.548-07:002015-03-23T10:07:48.548-07:00I must admit I didn't/don't ever have Kimc...I must admit I didn't/don't ever have Kimchi on my To Do list ! Not that I ever had one for retirement , really . I sort of drifted into it because I'd reached retirement age .<br />Any vague ideas about trips or signing up for an online university course have been shelved , for the time being , but not abandoned entirely . There's still a chance I'll find time for Carribean Studies , No Creole Needed .SmitoniusAndSonatahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11210817141287881808noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904021173466473381.post-47013229975878029352015-03-23T07:40:24.252-07:002015-03-23T07:40:24.252-07:00Yay! I hoped one of my readers made kimchi, and I ...Yay! I hoped one of my readers made kimchi, and I might have guessed if anyone did it would be you! Sauerkraut is also on my list, and I'd love to do wild-yeast bread. Thanks for understanding my enjoyment of the list-making. I do find them reassuring although I don't intend them as the proverbial "bucket list" -- I find it helpful to collect the many pleasurable possibilities there are for the years ahead. materfamiliashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16062766947897513369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904021173466473381.post-34231088343422073922015-03-23T00:34:46.711-07:002015-03-23T00:34:46.711-07:00Yay to kimchi. I make it ... and sauerkraut. And I...Yay to kimchi. I make it ... and sauerkraut. And I'm currently obsessed with my homemade sourdough (including homemade starter). I'm at least 20 years off retirement but my work is flexible enough for me to find time for these things, and I do often spend the entire weekend in the kitchen :) I find lists very reassuring - it doesn't mean you must do any of these things, it just reminds you how many marvellous things there are out there to do. As Duchesse commented, you'll probably find even more! Tiffanyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11536212906241844509noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904021173466473381.post-30817601884591978322015-03-22T06:50:39.517-07:002015-03-22T06:50:39.517-07:00Which walk did you do?
It was some of your writin...Which walk did you do? <br />It was some of your writing on retirement, I think, perhaps a couple of years ago, that started allowing me to think it might be a sooner option for me than I had always thought. Making room for the creative is really important to me as well -- gardening, piano-playing, stitching, writing, even baking and cooking, my recent interest in learning to draw, those have all had to be pushed away or curtailed severely while I worked. And I really hope I can build a decent social life again after too many years of saying "no" because of work commitments. <br />I have no idea, of course, what the future will bring, but I do think it's good to have some idea of what I want, and I think you sum it up well in "time for people and for creativity." Pretty good guidelines, I'd say. materfamiliashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16062766947897513369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904021173466473381.post-36961997677463981942015-03-22T06:42:13.203-07:002015-03-22T06:42:13.203-07:00As I think of it, Ceri, the diving board metaphor ...As I think of it, Ceri, the diving board metaphor might be a really good one -- I'm a pretty good swimmer; it's my fear of heights that was the problem on the board. Once I get through that transition between land, then board, then air, I'll have a big splash and then have all sorts of fun moving through the water! Thank you! ;-)materfamiliashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16062766947897513369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904021173466473381.post-39416082537445836582015-03-22T01:30:21.507-07:002015-03-22T01:30:21.507-07:00Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear - not at all a helpful m...Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear - not at all a helpful metaphor there. <br /><br />Completely understand and empathise with your apprehension re your self image in the aftermath. The fears of the waters closing over the head - another bad metaphor alas given your high diving board experiences (but you did it twice... that was gutsy). Wishing you well and looking forward to vicariously following your journeyCerinoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904021173466473381.post-20388689152971263072015-03-21T13:07:58.053-07:002015-03-21T13:07:58.053-07:00I don't think I had a list although I did have...I don't think I had a list although I did have the big project of my long distance walk which I did about a month after I retired. I think planning for that and doing it used up some of my planning and "workhead" and probably helped the transition. For me it was a more general sense of finding time for people and of exploring creative things rather than using the intellectual, analytical part of myself which had been to the forefront in my working life. I didn't expect to have to spend so much time on my father in law and now my father and I didn't expect the total shock and loss of my mother's sudden death. So perhaps it hasn't been as I might have planned it but I do have time for people and for creativity and that is what matters to me.Elizabeth Musgravehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09473705107636868753noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904021173466473381.post-56626585124136868912015-03-21T13:03:54.417-07:002015-03-21T13:03:54.417-07:00I don't think I had a list although I did have...I don't think I had a list although I did have the big project of my long distance walk which I did about a month after I retired. I think planning for that and doing it used up some of my planning and "workhead" and probably helped the transition. For me it was a more general sense of finding time for people and of exploring creative things rather than using the intellectual, analytical part of myself which had been to the forefront in my working life. I didn't expect to have to spend so much time on my father in law and now my father and I didn't expect the total shock and loss of my mother's sudden death. So perhaps it hasn't been as I might have planned it but I do have time for people and for creativity and that is what matters to me.Elizabeth Musgravehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09473705107636868753noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904021173466473381.post-83406574456233372612015-03-21T07:41:55.422-07:002015-03-21T07:41:55.422-07:00Yes, exactly. End of term is always a challenge an...Yes, exactly. End of term is always a challenge anyway and this one has been complicated by a number of emotional events in my personal life. Wish I could have a few weeks to retire before my actual Retirement . . . #inanidealworld!materfamiliashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16062766947897513369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904021173466473381.post-51870216764273218142015-03-21T07:38:45.890-07:002015-03-21T07:38:45.890-07:00I'll be interested to see what I do, from the ...I'll be interested to see what I do, from the list, and what I don't --- and what I do that I can't anticipate right now. <br />As for a Montreal visit, that's on a list too! ;-)materfamiliashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16062766947897513369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904021173466473381.post-53473641664632761532015-03-21T07:36:55.885-07:002015-03-21T07:36:55.885-07:00Exactly. I am looking forward to it, but there'...Exactly. I am looking forward to it, but there's some grief about leaving behind that (late-won) identity as an academic and some trepidation about visibility/self-image, etc., moving forward. But I really want/need a big long stretch of time to let go -- for so many decades there's been too much to do and I think it's time for a slow-down. We'll see if I can manage that. Thanks so much for commenting -- so pleased you enjoy the blog.materfamiliashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16062766947897513369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904021173466473381.post-38606693984488152952015-03-21T07:34:34.627-07:002015-03-21T07:34:34.627-07:00Oh my goodness, that's a terrible situation, S...Oh my goodness, that's a terrible situation, Sarah. I have no idea what I'd do in the face of such an assault on quality of daily life.<br />I got that question "What do you plan to do with it?" even in my early 40s, pursuing grad school in a field not exactly guaranteed to lead to paid work (Canadian Literature). And when I started, I had no intention of building a career, but wanted the intellectual challenge and the "sheer pleasure," as you say, of learning. I'm sure your professor appreciates your commitment and I suspect other students, including the younger ones, often appreciate your perspective as well.<br />Newfoundland is the one province I haven't got to yet -- I'm envious of your trip. Quebec City is great, and I loved New Brunswick should you be driving through that province en route. I've long wanted to get to St. Pierre and Miquelon although I think they're a commitment to get to -- not as close as I once thought, but such a fascinating anomaly. materfamiliashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16062766947897513369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904021173466473381.post-47359545893475731652015-03-21T07:29:01.591-07:002015-03-21T07:29:01.591-07:00And another for the kimchi (I could have guessed y...And another for the kimchi (I could have guessed you'd vote that way!)<br /><br />I see the list, truly, as a beckoning and a reassuring hand. I expect those activities to be done slowly (except for framing the Christmas-gift portraits -- that's a top priority) and with pleasure and at random -- no ticking off a bucket list. They're simply examples of some of the things I want to fill my days with -- pleasure from the doing, as you say, rather than from the accomplishing.<br />I'd still go back to work for the right opportunity, part time, as well, although not for the next year or two. It seems unlikely, for me, given all the poor young hopeful academics working in precarity, but who knows what niche my skillset might find. Meanwhile, there will be lots to do, surely, and much to learn, and if I can find fun and internal peace as well, then retirement will be very worthwhile. xomaterfamiliashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16062766947897513369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904021173466473381.post-54115946873253535902015-03-21T07:24:13.234-07:002015-03-21T07:24:13.234-07:00Finally a vote for the kimchi!
The lists isn'...Finally a vote for the kimchi! <br />The lists isn't meant to be things I have to do. I'm listing things I've wanted to do for so long and hope finally to get to . . . again, we'll see. You made me smile though. materfamiliashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16062766947897513369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904021173466473381.post-21468788244088578832015-03-21T07:22:41.743-07:002015-03-21T07:22:41.743-07:00I've wanted to make kimchi for ages and ages, ...I've wanted to make kimchi for ages and ages, and it's symbolic of the many, many things I've pushed to the side over the past 15 or 20 years, first to manage juggling work, family, and undergrad courses, then for grad school, then for the job. I suspect there will still be pushing-aside, and time will tell what stays on the plate and what gets scraped into the trash. . . .Balance for the win? Does it ever happen? ;-)materfamiliashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16062766947897513369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904021173466473381.post-64305096375989313112015-03-21T07:20:47.422-07:002015-03-21T07:20:47.422-07:00Oh dear, bad metaphor to use for me -- I only mana...Oh dear, bad metaphor to use for me -- I only managed the high diving board twice, one day when I was 12 or 13, with much fear on my part and much impatience on those keeners waiting at the bottom of the ladder for their turn! Actually, the metaphor I feel more keenly right now is that I'm in the last 10 kilometres of the marathon I ran last May, and I'm very ready to stop! ;-) But I do have some apprehension about my self-image in the aftermath. We'll see, won't we? And at least I'll have kimchi! ;-)materfamiliashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16062766947897513369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904021173466473381.post-79309320092981567582015-03-21T07:17:50.415-07:002015-03-21T07:17:50.415-07:00I sometimes think I have underestimated the length...I sometimes think I have underestimated the length of time it's taking me to adjust to the (much earlier) death of my father and then (two years ago) my mom. I expect that some of this may work its way to the surface when I have some time for that to happen in retirement. Ah, those containers of classic texts -- yes, I'm trying to decide what to bring home from my office, what to purge. . . . If you do get your needle out and start working on that canvas, you'll have to show a photo on your blog . . . ;-)materfamiliashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16062766947897513369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904021173466473381.post-63877248360492144072015-03-21T07:15:24.933-07:002015-03-21T07:15:24.933-07:00So far, we've enjoyed doing French lessons wit...So far, we've enjoyed doing French lessons with a private tutor, although I could see how the classes could have a welcome social aspect. It's been fascinating, though, getting to know my husband in another language, particularly if the tutor introduces really engaging topics.materfamiliashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16062766947897513369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904021173466473381.post-16023826556696324232015-03-21T05:52:35.905-07:002015-03-21T05:52:35.905-07:00Hang in there Mater. End of term is always fraught...Hang in there Mater. End of term is always fraught, isn't it? Students, especially in my experience seniors, are stressed and staff are working feverishly. Then there's all the extra end of year stuff! Add retirement emotions to that....and Phew!! I cried a lot my last week or so. And not because I was sad to be retiring, just because everything I was doing was at work was "the last time..." Hubby kept saying..."Can't you look at it as a beginning and not an ending?" "Not yet," I said. "I'll get there. Just not yet." Sue Burpeehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07282970328494769657noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904021173466473381.post-81158183973567550972015-03-21T05:46:47.274-07:002015-03-21T05:46:47.274-07:00Just want to say you will love Newfoundland. An ve...Just want to say you will love Newfoundland. An very special place.Sue Burpeehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07282970328494769657noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904021173466473381.post-55585808483852431332015-03-21T05:19:39.768-07:002015-03-21T05:19:39.768-07:00Smiling as I read this; I too made a list. It was ...Smiling as I read this; I too made a list. It was an artifact of my business-productivity brain, and also a form of reassurance that I wasn't about to turn into a carrot. I found the list recently (4 yrs into retirement). Have done a few of the things but- and this I did not anticipate- also found new interests and avenues, including volunteer work. As for your French, come see me in Montreal! On se parlerait!Duchessehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09986153653120526776noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904021173466473381.post-76874595259677689022015-03-20T14:04:11.750-07:002015-03-20T14:04:11.750-07:00I feel that you are very much looking forward to r...I feel that you are very much looking forward to retirement but with certain hesitation...Life changes can be scary, to say the least, but you seem to have such a wonderful relationship with your hubby and you so enjoy your kids and grandkids that I think you'll find it "vacation-like"! Don't put pressure on yourself to "accomplish"....just feel free to run, nap, visit, travel, read, cook and do everything you enjoy with "no rules"! You deserve it... Enjoy your husband and your time together....life is short...love is important.....I always enjoy your blog! JanieAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com