Grugger’s Way

Joy of Retirement FIVE - the joy of Creative Time is a great joy for me as it is a luxury that I never had prior to retirement.  Oh, I created plenty of stuff for my employers, but that pretty much exhausted my creativity for the week.  Now, at home with no obligations to think up stuff for someone else’s use, I am free to enjoy my creative time, to explore my creative nature, to exercise my creative juices.  (Wow, so far there isn’t anything original or creative here to brag about.)

The urge to create something is evident even from the Caveman drawings that tout successful hunts or avoiding mayhem.  But there are not many Picasso’s or Leonardo da Vinci’s in the world.  Not many Edison’s or Franklin’s or Einstein’s.

This Cave drawing depicts a
man being attacked by a bison.

Most of us are just ordinary “joes” or “joans” who have ordinary talents, ordinary skills and mostly ordinary thoughts, but we can still leave parts of ourselves in this world to say “I was here; I mattered”  if only for our descendents.

Horse by Leonardo da Vinci

I think the need to create is almost a compulsion.  Retirement offers an opportunity to contemplate our contributions, our lives, our legacy.  We can learn new skills, we can learn to appreciate talent in others, we can find new appreciation in physical exertions, artistic expressions in music, art, theater, creative writing, sculpture, architecture, and a host of other pursuits that we just didn’t find time for when we were employed.  Now I regret that I didn’t force myself to set aside time for such pursuits of knowledge and experience years and years ago.  They say we can always make time for what is important to us.  That says a lot about me.  Work was important to me.  Now…time is important to me.

I took a drawing class; found out I didn’t have a whit of talent to DO, but I did appreciate what others could do.   I drew a coffee mug.  Whoopee.

 I took a photography class and found out that the technical aspects of creating technically good shots was way too technical for me and isn’t so much fun.  I will always remain a “point and shoot” guy, I think.

I do like to take photos of our pets. This puppy grew up to be a 140 pound St. Bernard named “Lucy.”  Looked to me like a cocker spaniel.

PUPPY EYES

I have taken yoga classes and thought I could do all this at home without paying for it, but found out I lack discipline.  Perhaps I will stick with the classes after all. 

I spend a lot of my time writing.  I have a novel almost completed, except that I decided to make a major change in the storyline, so I have a lot of re-writing to do.  I write for several blogs, including some that pay, but not very much, and I don’t write for money anyway and so that’s a good excuse when I don’t make any. 

I love to spend time in the kitchen now, but have to stay out of the wife’s way.  Most of the stuff I would enjoy baking are not so healthful for me anymore.  I could always give it away to the grandkids; they will eat anything.  Perhaps I better stick to steamed veggies and yams and Eggo omelets. 

Musically, I am practically tone deaf; perhaps due to very poor hearing in one ear and being nearly deaf in the other.  There is one musical instrument that I enjoy playing: the African drum.  Yes, I can beat on my new djembe for hours (so long as no one else is in the house).  I am better at playing than I am at listening to others play for any length of time.  I am learning all about the rhythm of life as reflected in our heartbeats and the beats of the drum.  My wife and I went to a Drum Brothers Montana Retreat last summer and had a great time.  We even built drums.  Wonderful experience.  I am going to enjoy retirement so much.  Probably so much that my wife will think she ought to retire next.  That would be okay. I guess.  But I don’t know if we could stand to be around each other, creating all the time.

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