The
first anniversary of my retirement approaches, and it finally feel as if I am making headway. I am not complaining, but it has been a period of great transition. After nine months, I am finally sleeping more than 5 hours/night (usually), all of our insurances are now in post-retirement mode, almost all of the “big” household projects are complete, and the gardens are now have less of the “prettyish kind of a little wilderness” vibe and more of the “someone definitely lives here” vibe.
Which means—in theory—that I now have time to relax, recreate, and indulge in avocational pursuits such as reading from my towering TBR stack, learning new weaving techniques, and of course, writing. Writing has been the most difficult for me to restart; I’ve tried to keep to my schedule here, but frankly, it’s been a challenge to maintain my regular Thursday posts. Life, current events, injuries, domestic duties, support of friends and family (such as I’m able), they all take energy and pull from my ability to focus. Poetry has been my mainstay, a manageable way to keep my hand in. Ideas and concepts bubble up while I’m on my walks, then percolate for a few days, a week at most, until they’re either tossed aside or they crystallize into something I can further fashion into a piece that I’m not embarrassed to post here.
Kurt R.A. Giambastiani 