Thursday, July 26, 2012

Holidays, Retirement and TIME

So.... I remember talking to colleagues near the end of June and hearing them wish me a wonderful holiday.  Of course they were referring to the upcoming national holiday.  However, it gave me great pause for reflection since, when you are retired, there ithe difference between holidays and regular days becomes blurred.

You have to know that I was the kind of person in the work world that religiously documented all national and school holidays as soon as the new academic calendar arrived.  I LOVE holidays - they mean sleeping in, fun times with family and just a break from the hectic days at work.  Don't get me wrong - I have been one of the lucky ones.  I love my job and my profession.  I could and did lose myself in a myriad of important, and, maybe not so important, tasks that engaged, challenged and inspired me as a teacher and department chair.

I still love holidays - I love to decorate the house (for grandkids now), plan holiday menus (but not actually cook them - that's Raymond's job) and activities, and participate in fun activities.  However, I sleep in or not...any day I want to, and my time with family and friends now happens based on needs and wants as opposed to squeezing free time out of a very crammed work schedule!

And think about it - I've been thinking about this the whole month of July and just found the TIME to write about it.  Life is different, but life is definitely GOOD!

2 comments:

  1. I too marked my school calendars when I was working for a district. But now that I work freelance, holidays often don't get the same emphasis as they did, sometimes (sob) they are lumped into the work week. Of course, by the same token, sometimes I can throw myself a holiday on July 28th :-) just because.
    Time is so much deeper and more fluid than we give it credit for--My favorite Blake quote is: To see a world in a grain of sand, And a heaven in a wild flower, Hold infinity in the palm of your hand, And eternity in an hour. Here's to GST! Glorious Sylvia Time! xo

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