Retired?

This is a week that refuses to be tamed. Pretty sure I've written about these before -- my daughter's school is closed today, and they're scheduled for a delayed start tomorrow, but it's supposed to snow, so whether or not school will be in session remains to be seen. In my school world, the new semester starts Wednesday. My first class with my new students is on Thursday. My book comes out Monday, with an online release party scheduled for Monday night.

So this is retirement.

Obviously, it didn't "take" -- which is what I tell anyone who asks me how I'm enjoying retirement. But that's okay. My intention was never to fully retire -- not yet. For me, retirement was a door from one place into another, one I had visited aspects of before. And the long, luxurious stretches of time associated with this phase of life? Long since parceled into pursuits as time consuming as any "regular" job, but lots more fun.

I should just sit back, relax, and enjoy what's sure to be Mr. Toad's Wild Ride. And quite honestly, aside from habit and a crazy work ethic, I'm not sure what's stopping me.

There are just so many things I want to do -- so many pursuits I want to, well, pursue. But revving my engine is not just pointless, it's exhausting.

Most of the deadlines I set these days are self-imposed, but the rule-following instincts bred into me die hard. If I say I'm posting blogs on Mondays and Wednesdays, I should be here on Mondays and Wednesdays, even if it means disembarking from Mr. Toad's Wild Ride to do so.

But what's the worst that could happen? Someone visits on one of those days and finds last week's posts?

I've tried hard to avoid that -- I really have. And on weeks that don't feel so much like a wild ride, I'm pretty successful, in part because I believed the rule makers who said if I do that too often, people will stop coming.

But I'm beginning to think that advice is of the same ilk as "If you don't stop making that face, your face will freeze that way." and "If you swallow that gum, you'll grow a gum tree in your stomach."

Loyal readers, if I have them, will be patient, and they'll understand that some things defy deadlines.
Especially the deadlines that get buried under 4-8" of snow and back-to-back schedule changes.

So, I hope you'll excuse me for posting this a tad late. After all, I am retired.