"I don't have time"

   I have been retired for one week! 

Since I was a teacher, I'm used to summer vacations, but my head is having a hard time getting that 3 months of  summer is here, let alone retirement! Today everything in me is telling me, "Better do this or do that right now because tomorrow is a new week and you won't have time." It's kind of a jerk on my  leash each time I realize that that part of my life is now behind me forever, and "I don't have time" no longer has to be part of my vocabulary.

 

    I've done a few things to help myself believe it.  This afternoon I retired my lunch bag to the Goodwill donations bag in the trunk of my car.  My lunch  bag represented a lot of my identity during the school year.  It took hours of my weekend to get my food ready for the week ahead, planning, growing it, shopping it, preparing it.  It was (and still is) important to me that my food be homemade, healthy, local, and minimally packaged. That's going to take a whole lot less planning ahead to accomplish now.  

   It's a rainy, chilly day UpNorth where I live, pouring much of the day. With nothing to get ready for Monday, what have I done?  Read most of a book I've had waiting for me on my Kindle app for months and months, The Story of Rose: A Man and His Dog by Jon Katz. It's a thoughtful book and I've read slowly, petting the cat, savoring the story. I've spent time listening to the robins and cardinals, roaming from window to window to look out and appreciate all the shades of green shimmering in the rain. Yup, pretty much 'standing there in silence, looking up at the sky, and contemplating how amazing life is.'  I think I'll get the hang of this new life real soon!