After the Labour Day Weekend

Do you remember your first day of school, year after year?  Besides feeling fluttery at the thought of a new teacher my one clear memory is the new clothes and new shoes that we wore on the first day of school.  My sister and I always had matching outfits until we were tweens and we never thought anything of it.  My mother was a fantastic seamstress who not only made dresses, blouses and skirts for us but trousers for my brothers and even winter coats and jackets for us.  She was really gifted.

Today I still consider the week after Labour Day as a fresh start.  For years I have considered the Labour Day weekend as the one where I start to put my yard to bed for the winter, weather permitting.  This is the week where I start my mini-resolutions such as upping the workouts, staying off the computer, doing more “meaningful” work, being “more social” and other resolutions that fade away as the weather gets colder.  This September has special meaning for me as I approach my first anniversary in retirement.  I feel as though I am running to a ribbon at the finish line and am excited to shout out “I made it without being bored once”.

And that’s the truth.  I’ve had a really terrific first year where I have accomplished so much with all the improvements around the house and grounds.  Now I look forward to a second year where I buckle down to some serious work on the writing and studying front.  Remember one of the six pieces of the retirement pie is “Mental Health” which means that we have to exercise those “little grey cells”.  I can admit that in this year of physical work and activity the grey cells have been coasting a little too much for my comfort.  While I don’t think I am quite overwhelmed, yet, by the thought of actually studying I do have some qualms about what I may discover about my abilities.

And isn’t that just a little bit like starting out on your first day of school, wondering if the teacher is going to find you a satisfactory student.  Our experiences really aren’t so far from the past as we’d like to think!