(no subject)
I celebrated my 3rd year of retirement with sundaes. Randi and I have a "special event" sundae that we use for birthdays, Christmas/New Year, and, of course, my retirement day. The sundae consists of equal scoops of coffee and rocky road ice cream (Blue Bell), topped with Cool Whip, drizzled with Hershey's Special Dark chocolate syrup, and covered with chocolate sprinkles. Yummm.
I tend to evaluate my life on this day rather than on New Year's Day. I don't make resolutions, but I do like to see what's been working for me and what progress I've made. I have to admit that I wasted the first two years of my retirement. Randi says that's because I was getting past all the stress I was under in the last couple of years I worked. These included hip surgery; 4.5 hours/day spent in commuting; a punishing schedule (up at 4:00, home at 7:00); Randi becoming disabled, putting her, the animals and house completely in my care; and the boss from hell. This isn't a whine. Everyone has their cross to bear, and compared to other people I know, it's not such a heavy one. And I had help - not with the work, but with emotional support from Randi and my friends at work and online. (Blessings upon you, every one of you.) However, I figure she may be right and I needed almost two (eep) years to come down from all that.
In this last year, however, I've begun to hit my stride. I won Nano with The Path of the Dragonfly after two unsuccessful attempts, then went on to finish the book and send it to my publisher. I am now at the climax of the sequel to Dragonfly, called Gifts of the Elven (which is a temporary title, because Randi doesn't like it.) Randi's been reading my stories for almost as long as I've been writing them, and she says these two are the best I've ever written.
And yes, I do measure my success and happiness by my writing. I'm happiest when I'm writing. Also a lot less whiny/bitchy, but it is easier to find joy if you're happy to begin with.
So this retirement anniversary, I am more satisfied with myself. I'm writing. My next project is getting the house in order, but that'll take years, literally, so I just want to make a few strides. Last year I made several of them, so I'm on track.
I tend to evaluate my life on this day rather than on New Year's Day. I don't make resolutions, but I do like to see what's been working for me and what progress I've made. I have to admit that I wasted the first two years of my retirement. Randi says that's because I was getting past all the stress I was under in the last couple of years I worked. These included hip surgery; 4.5 hours/day spent in commuting; a punishing schedule (up at 4:00, home at 7:00); Randi becoming disabled, putting her, the animals and house completely in my care; and the boss from hell. This isn't a whine. Everyone has their cross to bear, and compared to other people I know, it's not such a heavy one. And I had help - not with the work, but with emotional support from Randi and my friends at work and online. (Blessings upon you, every one of you.) However, I figure she may be right and I needed almost two (eep) years to come down from all that.
In this last year, however, I've begun to hit my stride. I won Nano with The Path of the Dragonfly after two unsuccessful attempts, then went on to finish the book and send it to my publisher. I am now at the climax of the sequel to Dragonfly, called Gifts of the Elven (which is a temporary title, because Randi doesn't like it.) Randi's been reading my stories for almost as long as I've been writing them, and she says these two are the best I've ever written.
And yes, I do measure my success and happiness by my writing. I'm happiest when I'm writing. Also a lot less whiny/bitchy, but it is easier to find joy if you're happy to begin with.
So this retirement anniversary, I am more satisfied with myself. I'm writing. My next project is getting the house in order, but that'll take years, literally, so I just want to make a few strides. Last year I made several of them, so I'm on track.