one-hundred mph to foosball
A raven I photographed (on Halloween) while walking the dog. It has nothing to do with my post, except that I now have time to take the picture and post it.
As previously mentioned, I retired at the end of the last school year after 25+ years in education -- the last fourteen as a junior high school principal.
It has been challenging to go from long days spent at a frenetic pace, to days where circumstances and events are pretty firmly within my control. I'm not complaining. My stress levels are significantly lower, and it is nice to have time to pursue my own interests.
I do get a bit tired of people asking what I'm up to and then feeling like I have to justify my existence. I've been telling everyone I'm taking a gap year to figure it out. Last week, I stopped by my former school, and was greeted in the office by a student with a gasp and a smile -- "Mr. Delp! I forgot you were alive." Yep. Still alive.
I've been volunteering for a non-profit that operates a community center in the neighborhood where I taught. Yesterday, I found myself there, at 2:30 in the afternoon, playing foosball with former students. Quite a departure from what I was doing at this time last year.
Guess I'll need to brush up on my foosball skills.