Life as Retired

 

Time flies. Weeks zoom by. Already Friday again...!?

Only a couple of Monday mornings with time on my hand, with cross word puzzle and third cup of coffee, I went back to school to sub for a colleague, just for two days. I had just started to feel the new routines of being retired, when I was needed in my old school.

In the lunch break our rector asked me: "How is it to be back?" "Quite ordinary," I said, smiling. It did not feel like I had been gone, really. I don't know if he thought 'ordinary 'was good or not good. I could have come up with a more descriptive term, I suppose. In hindsight, though, I thought about my first two sessions. It was a new class, so nobody knew me as a teacher. I was to introduce them to poetry on a Monday morning. Normally, that makes the class rather quiet and I go into some lengthy soliloquy about sound effects in word choice, condensed meaning, ways to explore, etc. And I have tried, on Monday mornings, to entice the young hopeful to interaction. Normally, I meet silence. This class, though, was different. It was the young fellows that were interacting and contributing. How sweet! Some of the girls were joining, too. 

 

Perhaps they are into poetry and lyrics, or perhaps it was the batty old lady in yellow pair of trousers with large paw prints on them (intentional, not accidental) with a British accent and quite bad of hearing that made the Monday morning session enjoyable. I noticed friendly young people, willing to share, willing to repeat - since one of my batteries in the hearing aid died - and willing to help. My hearing issues is one reason I think I work better in other settings than a classroom. At home I do not always use them, and we have some really funny misunderstandings - 

 

As I said, I was subbing for more than one class. The other class were older students, and apart for a couple of newcomers, they all knew me. It felt like family. 

 

Life as retired is still new to me. It is not hectic, but time flies! Before I know it, it is Friday again. I get easily absorbed in projects, but my priorities form the acts of the day - God, family and animals, friends, projects... health is intertwined, rest and restoration are intertwined. I seek meaningful 'workouts', hands-on projects with time to pray, time for breaks and games, for tea-time and talks, time for walks with our four-legged family member. We measure time in segments. I know God is above those limitations. I know I am in his care. He leads me to green pastures, to places of rest and restoration. Psalm 23. Coming to think of it, I used Psalm 23 in the Monday morning poetry session. 

Perhaps that could be a Monday morning Psalm for all of us:)