Shifting Gears
In June, I decided to take a relatively early retirement after over twenty-five years in public education. I was a science teacher and school administrator, including fourteen years as the principal at a Title I junior high school.
The transition has been a dramatic change of pace resulting in significantly less stress and considerably more control over my time. I do watch my nephews one to two days a week, and I volunteer for a local non-profit working with high school students in my former school neighborhood. I begin each morning with a quiet and prayer time, and I have been reading A LOT. I especially like outdoor adventure and travel non-fiction and have enjoyed Dispatches From Pluto, by Richard Grant; The Last Season, by Eric Blehm; Sprinting Through No-Mans Land, by Adin Dobkin; and Counting Coup, by Larry Colton. I also watched almost the entire Vuelta de Espana (at least the last thirty minutes of each stage) and just this week I got my raised bed gardens ready for planting. As you can see, I still have quite a bit on my agenda.
Here are some additional goals I have established for the coming months:
Write. I've always wanted to be a writer, but have never really put effort into improving. My goal is to spend time each day putting words to paper (or keyboard). Some of my writing will be published here on Bear, some will simply be for my own edification. I will also keep a list of ideas for further development and future posts or stories. Perhaps, one day, it will lead to a book.
Get Outdoors. I love being outside and retirement affords me the time and freedom to do more extended exploring. From day trips with my dog (Cubby) to multi-day camping and fishing trips I plan to check some places off my "to visit" list. The weather is cooling in Arizona making this goal more reasonable. In addition, prior to retirement, I invested in a good, used, full-frame camera so getting outdoors offers opportunities for me to practice my photography.
Ride my Bicycle. Bicycling has always fascinated me. I rode across Kansas with my best friend after our senior year in high school, but I have not maintained a cycling habit. I own an "older" (but perfectly good) steel-framed road bike that has recently been tuned, so there is no excuse for not ditching my truck and running errands with my bike more frequently. I can get almost anything I might need within a two-mile radius of my house. I am going to keep a log of my rides and try to calculate the mileage and gas I save by bicycling instead of driving.
Reduce. I have WAY too much stuff and it is stressful. I am going to begin selling, gifting, or throwing away my excess. This includes clothes, books, fishing/camping equipment, and a lot of odds and ends (most of it in the garage -- yikes). I haven't decided on an end goal other than owning less stuff. I did listen to a book where the author reduced to a total of one-hundred physical items for a year, but I'm not sure I am ready for a challenge of that proportion. However, I do plan to keep a tally of what I get rid of. Perhaps, after my first pass at de-cluttering I can find out how many things I do own and work toward further reductions.
There will be more things on future lists -- like hiking (and rafting) the Grand Canyon, riding my bike across the United States, really learning how to fly fish, sketching, and improving my very limited guitar playing skills. In the meantime, I think these four goals, in addition to the things I'm already doing, will keep me busy.
I'll keep you posted ;)