I've Crossed Over

Well it's no longer summer; the autumnal equinox was Monday and there is a faint nip in the air this morning. 

 You know that after retiring this spring, I struggled a bit with this new phase in my life, but as the seasons crossover I realize that my mindset about retirement has crossed over too...

Before: Worried my days wouldn't be full enough.
Now: Wish I didn't have as much going on during the week.

Before: Sunday afternoon anxiety attacks as I assessed how much I had         
             accomplished over the weekend and how much I had planned for the coming week.
Now: Sunday is truly a day of rest.

Before: Wore makeup six out of seven days of the week.
Now: Wear makeup one out of seven days.

Before: Woke up at 5:30 A.M. and tore out of here at 6:30.
Now: Wake up whenever and many days never leave the house.

Before: Kept up a wardrobe for work.
Now: Shorts and tennis shoes every day.

Before: Confined to school during the week.
Now: Travel whenever I want.

Before: Never had time or energy for exercise.
Now: Start each day with a walk.

Before: Go! Go! Go!
Now: Chill...chill....chill....

It took a while, but I've crossed over...................

                                                                                                Love ya'll, Shelli

There's never enough time to do all the nothing you want. 

 ~Bill Watterson, Calvin and Hobbes

Master Gardener Program

I love gardening!!!!!!!

When I was young I loved to hear my mother talk about plants with her friends. It was as though she was speaking a different language. "Thorny eleagnus, aspidistra, aucuba, fatsia, quince, rubeckia."  I was also impressed with her knowledge about this hobby that is part science, part art. She started the garden club in our home town and one month they had an event where you had to use plant material in an unusual way.  Mom and her friend, Looney, hollowed out cabbages and put them on their heads. After the addition of other vegetables and flowers their "hats" could have rivaled anything seen at the Royal Ascot.

  I have a friend who says you shouldn't retire from something, but to something. One of the things I have been saving for retirement is becoming a Master Gardener.  I have gardened for a long time, but quite honestly, have no real idea what I am doing.  I am ready to learn!

The Master Gardener program started in 1972 in Washington state.  It got its start in Louisiana in 1994 in East Baton Rouge. Today their are 19 programs in our state and 235 yearly graduates.  It  falls under the umbrella of the LSU AgCenter.  Classes are taught by local college professors, county agents, and master gardeners.

The program is a twelve week study of the following topics:

     Basic Botany and Plant Propagation
     Basic Entomology
     Plant Pathology
     Weed Science
     Lawn Care
     Soils and Nutrition
     Pesticide Safety and Water Quality
     Organic Gardening
     Vegetable Gardening
     Composting
     Fruit and Nut Production
     Ornamental Horticulture

There is a test (open book) at the end of the course and a requirement of forty hours of community garden education projects over the course of twelve months to become a certified Master Gardener. I can't wait!!!!!

Love ya'll,

Shelli

There can be no other occupation like gardening in which, if you were to creep up behind someone at their work, you would find them smiling. ~Mirabel Osler

I think that if ever a mortal heard the voice of God it would be in a garden at the cool of the day. ~F. Frankfort Moore, A Garden of Peace

I never had any other desire so strong, and so like to covetousness, as that one which I have had always, that I might be master at last of a small house and a large Garden. ~Abraham Cowley, The Garden, 1666

In the spring, at the end of the day, you should smell like dirt. ~Margaret Atwood

Early to bed, early to rise;
Work like hell and fertilize.
~Emily Whaley

The Phases of Retirement

     Last week I received my back-to-school letter from the Lincoln Parish School Board telling me when to report to school.  I guess they haven't taken the retired teachers off of the personnel rosters yet. I read it and then threw it away, happy that I wasn't going to be reporting back this year, and yet......

      I started this blog because I retired, but I haven't really written about retirement. If you Google retirement, you will find articles about finance and insurance, but what about the emotional aspect.  Maybe I am the only person alive who has struggled with this change, but I think not. It has taken me most of the summer to come to grips with the idea of retirement and I have gone through some definite phases along the way; some expected and some very unexpected.....

     When May ended, James and I immediately hit the road for Thomas' graduation, a little road trip, and Memorial Day kayaking. Then there was a week of sleeping late, working in the garden, cooking, and watching movies.  All of this while enjoying a feeling of release!!!  Release from deadlines and pressures; no more papers to grade, tests to update, Moodle, or lesson plans. Common Core wouldn't exist in my new world of retirement. These were all things of the past. Ahhhh.......

     But then I read an article online about the roads melting in Yellowstone National Park and thought how much my students would enjoy that article when we were studying volcanoes this year!  But wait, I wouldn't be teaching volcanoes or anything else this year. No students, no experiments, no colleagues, no fun.  These were all things of the past.....

     Hence started a period of depression.  I was hit with the realization that I was entering the final stage of life, the retired years.  Now I know they are going to be great years and that the world is my oyster and all that, but that doesn't mean they aren't the last phase of life.  With this realization came a flood of doubt and regret.  Have I done enough with my life so far; how should I use the rest of my life. Where do I start? I needed to sign up for as many volunteer organizations, college courses, exercise classes, and clubs as I could! Quick!!!! Anxiety attack!!! I was overwhelmed by an unexpected urgency to have it all figured out RIGHT NOW!!!!!!  I needed a BIG, BOLD, IMPORTANT RETIREMENT!!!!!

     And then I went home for our family's summer get together.  They had planned a retirement party and while we were celebrating, I took a good look around and realized that I was missing the point of retirement by worrying about grandiose plans. I didn't need to bring peace to the Middle East or solve world hunger.  I didn't need to run for mayor, paint a masterpiece, or write a book.  I needed to be a good wife, mom, sister, aunt, and daughter.  I needed to meditate every day and be healthy. I needed to be more active at church and nurture friendships.

     Retirement is a luxury; the luxury to slow down and focus on the small, simple things in life again. I have always tried to be mindful of the simple, but important things such as family, friends, and faith, but often they unintentionally got pushed to the back burner as my job took precedence.  Now is the time to restructure my priorities and if God has other plans for me, He'll let me know.  I don't have to figure it all out, He already has.

                 So now I am in a phase of slow, peacefulness; the best phase of retirement!

Love ya'll,

Shelli

  "You can only have bliss if you don’t chase it."

~Henepola Gunaratana (Bhante G)