Wasted time....

Ben Whishaw as Richard II in the BBC's Hollow Crown series.
Credit: http://grancontessa.tumblr.com/post/120927108205

I wasted time, and now doth time waste me….

Richard II’s words (above) are poignant reminders to Seize the Day. Minutes pass, as do hours, days, weeks, months and years. I am approaching my second anniversary of being retired from full-time teaching and Easter (for me) has always been a good time of year to reflect on the past, present and future. What has happened since retiring? Have I wasted the time?

Five a month

Five a month? Tick!

In my first blog, I recklessly stated that I hoped to be achieving five posts a month by August 2016. I have been doing that now since August 2015 so today (no April Fool, this, or maybe I’m an April Fool for writing it in a public space….) I’m turning to my next medium-term retirement goal which is to work more systematically on longer pieces of writing, in addition to the blog. Therefore from today onwards (April 1st 2016) every Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday from waking to 1pm I’ll be in the study calling myself a “writer.” As in,

Hello, I used to be a teacher but I retired from that and now I’m a “writer”.

I hope by April 2018 I won't feel the need to put "writer" in inverted commas. Two years from now. April 2018. I'm giving myself two years. In my life I've always measured Real Change by the span of two years passing before you can think of a change as embedded.

Why not be a “writer” every Tuesday too?

Tuesday is going to be Domestic Day. “Big shop” at the supermarket for the week, hoovering, mopping and ironing – my weekly chores…. And of course the Tuesday visit to Slimming World, as announced in a January blog. I’ve got my “You’ve lost a stone and a half” certificate now. And I am still enjoying (a lot of) food, wine and plenty of treats. So something has clicked for me after three decades of ignoring the pounds piling on – thanks, Slimming World!

So doth time waste me in retirement?

Not if you count:

• better quality time spent with family and friends 
• decluttering over thirty years of teaching resources
• learning to sleep better, eat better and get more exercise
• fragments of the glimpses of the inklings of feeling a little bit like a “writer” (in inverted commas for now.) 

I have a (treasured gift of a) bowl with a message painted into the pattern. It sums up this blog entry, an answer to Richard II’s self-pity: The time you enjoy wasting is not wasted time.