Time is on My Side

Time these days just gets away from me - I can feel it slipping through my fingers like sand. I thought that once I retired time would slow down a little bit but it hasn't. There is so much to see and do and I have to balance that with equal amounts of down time. Those of you who are introverts like me will understand that. Extroverts derive their energy from being around other people while introverts enjoy the company of others but regain their energy by spending time alone.

Like most introverts I do better in small groups (2-4 people) and like 1:1 time spent with a close friend as opposed to large group parties and events where I tend to feel lost and invisible. I don't have the gift of "small talk" - I can wing it for awhile but then feel exhausted afterwards. I don't mind attending "games night" or "progressive euchre nights" because there is an activity that we are all involved in but having to "mingle" at a party is difficult and I tend to avoid those.

In speaking with my introverted brother he admitted that he sometimes "lies" to others who are requesting him to attend certain social functions because he really doesn't want to go. So he'll invent something in order to bow out gracefully. I had to laugh at that because sometimes I do the same thing! I now find myself really weighing whether I want to attend certain events or not and if I don't want to go I don't. Sometimes I make up a reason and sometimes (depending on the event and people involved) I can explain myself honestly.

My real friends know me well and understand but there are others who don't get it. But I'm at the point in my life now when I feel I can and should do exactly what I want. If I don't want to go to something then I don't go; instead of suffering through it, regretting the time wasted and swearing to myself I'll never do that again. So that's why I love this quotation below which Meryl Streep quoted as words she lives by. (Original author is Jose Micard Teixeira)

It's all about being honest - with yourself and with others.

 “I no longer have patience for certain things, not because I’ve become arrogant, but simply because I reached a point in my life where I do not want to waste more time with what displeases me or hurts me. I have no patience for cynicism, excessive criticism and demands of any nature. I lost the will to please those who do not like me, to love those who do not love me and to smile at those who do not want to smile at me. I no longer spend a single minute on those who lie or want to manipulate. I decided not to coexist anymore with pretense, hypocrisy, dishonesty and cheap praise. I do not tolerate selective erudition nor academic arrogance. I do not adjust either to popular gossiping. I hate conflict and comparisons. I believe in a world of opposites and that’s why I avoid people with rigid and inflexible personalities. In friendship I dislike the lack of loyalty and betrayal. I do not get along with those who do not know how to give a compliment or a word of encouragement. Exaggerations bore me and I have difficulty accepting those who do not like animals. And on top of everything I have no patience for anyone who does not deserve my patience.” _ Meryl Streep quoted it as words she lives by!
Update: originally written by self-help author José Micard Teixeira.

So I cut my own hair!

I don't want to waste any more time. For some reason now that I'm retired it seems easier to say NO. In the past I would go to things because I felt (wrongly) that I was being antisocial if I didn't go. Now I understand myself better and am gradually developing a life that suits me better. I can choose between saying yes and no. I'm not becoming a hermit - I do say yes to things but I'm also giving myself time for my solitary pursuits: reading , writing, sewing, carving, genealogy, cycling and other, more artsy pursuits. 

And there's nothing wrong with that!

If I could save time in a bottle...

... the first thing that I'd like to do..... SING IT WITH ME EVERYONE......

HAH, never mind...you don't want to hear me sing! Really.

So it seems one must retire in order to get time pieces worthy of keeping track of one's time, if one wanted to keep track of time when one retires...one might not!

 I find it rather ironic that my plan for retirement day is to throw away my current watch and go watchless, after all I can always check my phone for the time as I'm so technologically up-to-date. THAT'S IF I NEED TO KNOW THE TIME - I'M HOPING I DON'T!! Sorry I didn't take a photo of the old chesnut (yes, I'm just being lazy) but believe you me it has stood up to the challenge of keeping me on time for the past 20 years!!

They don't make watches like mine anymore! If I squint past all the scratches on its face I can see that it's an Armitron Quartz and water proof to 100' which is handy if I ever drive off a cliff into the ocean and need to check the time! All silliness aside (just for a moment) the few times I've forgotten to take it off before showering I WAS relieved to see it still ticking away!

I purchased it at least 20 years ago at the local Bi-way store which closed down at least 15 years ago. Maybe more. I've had to replace the band umpteen times and the battery umpteen more and it even survived the time the lady at Zellers, who was replacing the battery, whacked it on the glass counter making the tiny little hands fall off!  She just wanted to sell me a new watch!! You wouldn't believe the disdainful looks I used to get when I'd need a new battery - I suppose most people would just throw a scratched up cheap old watch in the garbage and buy a new one - but not me!! I'm PROUD of the fact that I'm cheap and had a cheap watch that lasted 20+ years - it's still ticking accurately away as I speak type.

I believe my old dependable watch cost about $15.00 originally so along with new bands and new batteries has averaged me about $1.50 per teaching year. I guess time IS cheap after all!

The other ironic thing about my new clock and new watch is that both are engraved or "enfaced" with the union logo (clock) and school board logo (watch). Who wants to be reminded of work every time they check the time???

Well, I suppose I could say to myself - I wonder what those poor suckers are doing today?!?

SUNDAY NIGHT CHIT CHAT

First a photo:

This is the house where I grew up and lived from 

1956 - 1978 in Norwich, Ontario.  The window

on the second story was my bedroom window.

Make sure you check out Carla's Sunday Night Chit Chat HERE!!

What am I reading?      This "Soul of Money" helps you to look at money in a whole new way.  There really is enough to go around!!                            However...this book is mindless escapism - very           entertaining if you enjoy murder and mayhem as much as I do!!

 

What am I watching?  Not a darn thing! Just got home from a baby shower and before that I met up with my cousin Murray and his wife Deb who are visiting family - they hail from North Carolina!

Listening to?   I'm listening to the sound of my money taking wing....oh no, that's not right...it's just the sound of the furnace (which I unwillingly turned back ON!) and the dryer as Michael is doing laundry...and oh yes, the vacuum cleaner as he is cleaning up the dust bunnies in the basement. Isn't he sweet?

Cooking? Baking?  I'm up to nothing in this category either - I haven't cooked a darn thing all weekend. We had wings last night and today I ate at the baby shower - cucumber and cream cheese on pumpernickel bread - delicious!!

Happy I accomplished this week?  I accomplished a LOT this week, especially at school. I'm glad parent/teacher interviews went well, I cleaned and reorganized my desk at school, cleaned my bookcase out behind my desk AND at home I'm glad I got my house cleaned yesterday and glad I got to spend time with my daughter as she made JELLO SHOTS for a birthday party she was organizing!! (And I got to test them!) 

Looking forward to next week?  I am looking forward to a four day weekend as Easter rapidly approaches!! 

Thankful for today?  

• spending time with my cousin who I haven't seen in a few years though we are in touch on FB. He and I grew up together as my mom babysat him when we were little. Then we went through school together - it would not be an exaggeration to say he was my best friend.
• special time spent with Michael...eating out at the Waltzing Weasel where we spent the whole time talking about PEI and what we want to accomplish there this summer
• time spent with Kazi making Jello Shots and helping her prepare for a surprise birthday party for her EX-BOYFRIEND who has become a friend and now looks like he has the potential to become an UN-EX-BOYFRIEND!! Hoo boy, here we go again!!
• AND I'M GRATEFUL FOR TALENTED FRIENDS LIKE CARLA!! THE SHOWER GIFT RECIPIENT WAS THRILLED WITH HER PETER RABBIT BABY SET & ALSO COMMENTED ON YOUR CARD.  A GREAT SUCCESS CARLA!! Thanks!!

That's my weekly wrap!