I’ve been super busy. Not words that I ever thought I’d utter once I retired. But life has been relentless. Relentless with its blessings. Relentless with its surprises. Relentless with its opportunities.

When I retired I dove into four main hobbies I wanted to explore. Quilting, Mosaic, Macrame and Writing. I wanted to master, if not just dabble in acquiring and improving on these skills. With no other purpose than to learn something new. Explore my creativity. Keep myself motivated and occupied.

And if you know me I dove in head first. No swimming in the baby pool for me. So I signed up with the University of YouTube and began to learn everything I could. For days and weeks on end I’d pore over videos of experts doing their thing. And I got to acquiring the necessary tools to practice what I had learned. I loved every single moment of this learning experience.

Quilting was both easy and challenging. I could always manage a sewing machine, having started sewing at my mother’s side as a young child. Making the quilt tops proved to be simpler than I expected but nonetheless exciting. Watching large pieces of fabric turn into small pieces of fabric and then magically morph into varying designs at the flip of a half square triangle. That was thrilling. The actual machine quilting needed some practice and specific tools. And I’ve been forging ahead learning something new about quilting and myself with each quilt I sew.

Mosaic took me out of my comfort zone. I had taken a course in the art of mosaic several years prior but never followed up until now. I was rusty and again turned to YouTube for inspiration. I marvelled in the mixing of grout or concrete, cutting of tiles, watching different patterns and images come to life, much like the art of quilting. My garden is now spotted with stepping stones and my home is adorned with some mosaic wall art. Products of my mosaic adventure.

Macrame just soothes me. My husband would frequently call out to me in my hideaway loft asking what I was doing, and, with a smile, I’d simply answer “tying knots”. To make sure these were creative knots and not knots of some sinister vice, he built a macrame ‘thing-a-majig’ for me to sit and play with my cord to my heart’s content. I’ve made wall hangings, plant holders, hat holders, table runners – and there is still so much cord and projects on my wish list, I’ll probably need another few years of arthritis-free fingers to complete them.

My writing kept me grounded through these explorations. Helping me to focus, to keep my thoughts in check. It allowed me to discuss different topics – those close to my heart, and those close to the hearts of others. I’ve published most through my blog, some through a local magazine, but have kept a lot to myself. Still shy. Not yet ready to be shared. But with all that’s going on in my life, the whole writing adventure surely gets pushed aside from time to time.

Fast forward to 2024 and I had to make a decision. Too many hobbies meant being a Jack of all trades and a master of none. So I took a critical look at my work and my skills. Did a deep dive into my true moments of joy. And made the decision to focus on one that gives me a reason to wake up in the morning. Have another as a nice-to-have, that sweet pleasure we all need in our life and one more to keep me grounded. Pretty much a 60-30-10 sort of notion. Balance. Or so I thought.

Then there’s the sand to add to the bottle – the glue keeping all these balls together – gardening, exercise and family. These fill me up in different ways. The first affords me the space to sit and dream every day, the second keeps me outdoors exploring and my heart pumping to see another day and the third makes everything all worthwhile.

When I retired I never wanted to use the word ‘busy’ to describe my life again. The Oxford Thesaurus defines ‘busy’ as occupied or unavailable. ‘Occupied’ sounds unapproachable and ‘Unavailable’ just sounds selfish. ‘Busy’ doesn’t really sound like a happy to be.

So I’ve decided that what I am, is enjoying the fruits of a well-deserved retirement. Long but apt. My hands are full with exciting projects and my heart is overflowing with unimaginable joy.