Something Worthwhile

I’m just exhausted right now, and I can barely think, let alone write. It’s never stopped me before though, so once again into the breach!

I thought that when I retired I would have the time to do all of those things that work and life seem to keep you from doing. I was pretty sure that my garden and yard would look wonderful after I had retired. To tell you the truth, it still kind of looks like shit. The grass is patchy; there are some pathetic, anaemic looking bushes in the front garden. Can bushes even look anaemic?  The trees are over grown and the paving blocks could do with a realignment or replacement. It turns out that I don’t like gardening any more than I did when I was working, and then I at least had an excuse not to garden.

When I was working, I would let the house get a little too dusty and I would allow the dishes to pile up sometimes after dinner, to be done whenever I had he chance to wash, dry and put away. I am much better than I was when I was working, but far less tidy than I should be now that I am retired. It turns out that I don’t like cleaning either.

I managed to find time to do some wood working and carvings when I was working. It seems that now I have all of the time in the world, I can’t manage to get down stairs and carve for any length of time. I am going to change that starting tomorrow! No, really I am…really.

There are a couple of things that I wanted to do when I retired. I wanted to teach myself to play the guitar. I know that I will never be great, or even very good, but I would like to be able to strum a few chords and just enjoy the sound that comes into the world from my fingers. It is a hard go and to tell the truth I’m not as dedicated as I should be. I also wanted to learn how to draw. I have done some, but not often enough or long enough to get any good. I do eyes pretty well, and for a while there, I could draw a mean ball on a table with shadows.

What I have done, is to thoroughly enjoy myself by doing nothing. I visit people; I drink coffee and solve some of the world’s problems. I read, watch TV and read more books than I did while I was working. I look forwards to the times when I can see Hurricane and Tornado. I have learned to make killer Jam. I have learned not to make baked goods; too many aren’t really very good for you. I have made myself available to help my family and friends when they needed the help. I have been writing a blog and other things. I have built a couple of computers. I have wired two tiny Christmas trees (badly). I have walked the dog more than I used to, well, except for the past couple of weeks. I am sure he understands.

I guess that I have been busy, just not at the things I had planned to be busy doing. That’s cool, just so long as I fill the days with something worthwhile.