Winter Projects (and well beyond)

As I approach the nine-year (!) anniversary of my “retirement” (three weeks from today) and subsequent escape from Mordor, I recall the friends and contemporaries who have also retired and reflect on how well we have done with our new life patterns.  Those who were ready to retire but were not ready to be retired have struggled to find their footing in this new terrain, while those who were ready to be retired with a full slate of activities ready-to-go have fared pretty well.

Since my official date of retirement came in between Christmas and New Year’s my retirement party was scheduled for nearly a month after the fact.  Much to my delight was the character of the event; the celebration was understated (I forbade there to be any remarks from my “superiors”), plus there was a huge carrot cake, my favorite from our local bakery Gerard’s in Oxon Hill MD, Mrs. Barn and both Barndottirs were in attendance as was a huge contingent of friends and colleagues past and present.

One of them asked me, “So Don, how long did it take you to get used to being retired?”

I replied, “I was used to it by the time I walked out the front door on the last day.”  This truth reflected the fact that I “retired” with a huge menu of productive things to do and the time/energy/means to get them done.

That has never changed, well, in truth the energy level has backed off a bit.  But still I have a huge agenda of things to get done, and so for the next couple of months I will blog frequently about projects on my list for the coming winter and probably several winters (and summers) yet to come.  Some of the projects are evergreen.

One thing has not diminished in the least, my desire to learn new things and adopt new skills and refine old ones.

Just in case you were worried that I had nothing to do but loaf around.

Stay tuned.