Retirement | Mama Cormier

….time to slow down? I don’t think so….

Turning Sixty

Today I’m 60

A new milestone in my life

What does it mean?

Retirement?, maybe, eventually

I still love what I do

Teaching doesn’t allow me to slow down

There’s too much to do

Too much I want to do

I’ve only just started running

Blogging and writing

and experimenting with photography

Time to slow down?

I don’t have time to shift into low gear

I want to take more art classes

and improve my painting craft

I love teaching art to children and

sharing books and reading to them in the library

I’m becoming more techno literate and

want to take more computer classes and

experiment with apps and new programs

Time to give my brain a rest?

I don’t think so

I want to read good literature

and focus on my writing

I love playing with words and

have started playing Scrabble again

both on the traditional board and on-line

Is it time to become less physical?

I don’t think so

I need to keep up my strength

to work the soil in the garden, mow the lawn

and prune the hedges

My dog needs her exercise

and gets me out for long walks

I want to run and I mean really run more 5 k races

Is it time to care less about my appearance?

I’m too vain for that

I need to cover the grey in my hair

and apply day cream and night cream

to slow down the wrinkles

I like the new thinner me and want

to take it further

I feel better, younger and more alive

than when I was 50

Retirement?

It is near and I look forward to

more travel

I want to see the world and

spend more time with my sisters

in Calgary and Merlin

I need to spend more time with my Dad

who will soon be 86

His new goal is to live to be 100

but I need to enjoy his company now

I want to give back to the community

and volunteer my time

I just don’t know how

I need to continue learning

Taking another university course is a possibility

or maybe

a photography class or two

and a cooking class with my husband

and maybe, just maybe enjoy the company

of some grandchildren

Is it time to retire to the couch?

I couldn’t even if I wanted to

There’s too much to do

Too much I want to do

Carol Cormier / August 28, 2012

.…. it’s all getting me down

I’m not used to being in the city this long at the beginning of the summer. I forgot how much the heat keeps me from moving. That depresses me. My classroom is taking much longer to clean than I planned on. That depresses me. The news about teachers is all bad and once again the ‘hate on’ for teachers has begun. That depresses me.

I worked in my classroom for about 4 hours today. We’ve hit record breaking temperatures again and my classroom is situated on the south side of the school and we don’t have air conditioning. I need to clear away as much as I can so that the caretakers can come in and clean the room. I’m feeling the pressure and I couldn’t get it all done today. I need to go back. Sigh!

When I got home today I was so exhausted from the heat that I fell asleep. I need to exercise and I can’t find the motivation or the energy to do it. A few degrees cooler would help.

Our teacher’s contract is up at the end of the summer and for months we’ve been hearing the word “strike”. The provincial government has basically come in and told us that there would be a pay freeze for two years. Most teachers are not upset about that. It’s all the other things that they want to take away that took years to negotiate that upsets teachers. What’s the point of collective bargaining if the government can step in and do whatever they want without any consultation or ratification? The school board hasn’t even gotten involved yet and they’re typically who we bargain with.

Of course the media makes the teachers look bad and all the teacher haters come out of the woodwork. It’s always the same old arguments. Teachers get 3 months paid vacation (we get paid for 10 months of the year), they have a great pension (which we pay heavily into) and they only work 6 hours a day (too bad they don’t see the hours after school and on the weekend that most of us put in).

Retirement is looking better all the time but I love teaching and I’m not ready to let it go.