Rebuilding My Life – Part Two

Tomorrow, I’ll see the School Patrol lines walk by my house on the way to the elementary school at the end of the block. It is the first day of school, in the St. Paul school district, which waits until the first day after Labor Day to begin classes. The kids walking by my house will have new supplies, some new clothes and some anticipation about the year that is to start.

Because I was a participant in the school year cycle for so many years, I think of it as the beginning of the year. A fresh start. This is the beginning of my first full school year cycle of retirement. I’ve been on one long summer-spring-winter vacation since last December, trying to figure out what this new thing is.

As I may have mentioned before, I’ve spent a lot of time trying to figure out how I got anything done at home while I was in the work grind. It’s a wonder the house is still standing, and that my yard isn’t completely overrun with weeds. In these last nine months, I’ve done a lot to declutter and shape up the inside of my house, and trying to make up for the neglect of my postage stamp yard. Things are better. By this time next year, I’ll have a good handle on everything (knock wood that I remain in good health — but that’s a topic for another day)

I’m feeling reflective as the last day of “Minnesota Summer” is here, summarizing my accomplishments, noting where I need improvement. The biggest thing I’ve noticed is that I have moved back into my work mindset: endless to-do lists of things that must be done now. As one of my friends reminds me, I need to slow down.

I decided to rebuild my schedule. I had theme days when I first retired: appointment day, reading day, creative day, work day. That was OK for a while, but it only worked until May, when outdoor life takes over and everything is weather-dependent.

I’ve build a skeleton structure for each weekday around what I would like to do. If something else needs to be done during the structural part of my day, I’ll just go with the flow and start again later, or the next day.

For comparison’s sake, this is my original schedule in December 2021. I rewrote that again in February 2022, and it was even more fragmented. It was like I was trying to re-create the crazy of my work life. I hated the crazy, the chaotic. But after so many years of it, it just was second nature.

I think it’s going to take more time for me to change those old habits and mind set.

I really do want to slow down, savor my time, and yet get the things done that I want to get done: reading, volunteer tech work, scrapbooking and other craftiness, self-care.