I is for Indulging my Interests

 I always feel as though I should explain myself when I post a blog late and, truth be told, I feel a little like a failure when I miss one. Sometimes, the problem is the real job but, in the summer, when my course load drops from three classes to one, it feels as though I should be able to get back on track and show up here on my predetermined days. Some weeks I do.

This week wasn't one of them.

When I retired from public education in 2012, getting myself on a blogging schedule was one of the first things I did, and it was easy. Things have changed quite a bit since then, and, as I continue to add to my professional load, I'm finding it a bit strange that I'm of the age where my friends are beginning to retire for real, (as opposed to my retired-in-name-only experiment ten years ago). 

Some of these friends have no idea what to do with themselves. 

I have never, ever had that problem. I am interested in too many things. There simply aren't enough hours in the day.

That's not an excuse. It's an observation. 

And here's another one. During the school year, I can't wait until I have time to do all those things! So, during the summer, I indulge myself. I do all the things, as my colleague Sarah would say. 

And it's wonderful.

But often, I run out of day. My days are productive and enjoyable and, as much as possible, include working on my #1 interest: the writing projects that got shuffled aside during the semester. I write nearly every day.

Just not blog posts. 

Every week, I'm sure I'll meet my self-imposed deadlines. 

Until I don't. 

I'm still holding out hope that when my summer class is over in a few weeks, things will be better. I remind myself that I'm supposed to be on vacation (mostly) and so it's okay if every moment of every day isn't productive. 

And so with that in mind, and my list of interesting things in hand, I'll do my best to show up here at least twice a week. 

I hope that this blog will be one of the things that continues to interest you, even when a Monday post pops up on a Tuesday. But, even more, I hope that you're spending some time this summer exploring all the things that interest you. 

What else is summer for?