I was thinking while I was priming the trim pieces down the basement yesterday that maybe, just maybe, project work in the future will go as smoothly as this operation did. This wasn't a big job certainly, but I was able to get it done with no interruptions or headaches - just a nice enjoyable project, working at a leisurely pace.
Ever since I moved to the country it seems that I've always been at least one step behind. When I moved in here I was back in college to get my Tech Ed degree. I already had my vocational stuff but I was afraid of getting laid off again and since I was in a comprehensive high school instead of a vocational school, I wanted to make sure I could teach whatever they wanted me to teach and I'd be marketable if I decided to leave or they laid me off.
While still taking night classes, we moved to the old farmhouse only a couple of miles away from work. We're both real happy here but while going to school I was putting in a lot of miles and time commuting to college. Additionally, I no longer had a nice workshop. I was renting out my old place to Surly which meant I didn't have to move all my tools and rolling stock to the farm right away - good thing because I didn't have a decent building to put anything. I sold my Cutlass and my Ducati because I didn't have a decent place to keep them and kept most of the project bikes even though I didn't have any place to work on them.
It took some work but I got one of the outbuildings fixed up for a shop and then had a place to work again. I started the boxing gym with my buddy Jimmy ten years ago which took up quite a bit of my time. I was no longer going to night school, so I replaced one time eater with another. Finally got around to tearing the old barn down and working towards replacing it. Things were going well with the Building Trades class taking care of most of the construction. At least until the big storm came along and blew it down. So then it was on me to take care of it.
After the barn was finished I was still pretty busy but going along pretty well until I had the heart attack. That was a bit of a setback. Thankfully, however, that worked out alright but then the Missus broke her shoulder and the beginnings of her cancer was starting to make itself known. I retired from the high school after the heart attack and went to work for the college as a lab tech since there weren't any openings in the Weld Shop and as soon as I did that, they needed me to teach welding. So I've been working as a lab tech and an adjunct for seven years now. For a few semesters I was working almost full time between the two jobs.
I stepped down from having any official association with the boxing gym when the wife was going through chemotherapy and I'm just a volunteer coach now. I still try to make it in most days the gym is open to work out and I help work corners at tournaments as I'm able but mostly I come and go as I please. I've only got two more weeks to work at the college and I'll be off until March and I'm really looking forward to being off. I'm not complaining here. Other than the medical issues and dealing with the big blow from Mother Nature, things have been pretty good.
I do a lot more around the house than I used to due to the wife's condition but that's OK. All part of the deal. But now that I'm real close to being permanently retired, I see now that I can do more of the fun stuff I like to do without burning the candle at both ends. So hopefully, I can just tinker, travel, ride my bicycle and just enjoy myself for a few years now. I'm starting to slow down a bit but I'm fortunate to be able to have done as much as I've have so far in life and I want to do a lot more yet. Like fixing my bib overalls and making carb adaptors - doing what I like, when I want to do it. I even made a batch of cookies last night. I think I'll be able to get the hang of this retirement thing.
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