To forestall the inevitable trolling (and boy, have I experienced a lot of that!) I must state that I unequivocally refuse to exploit my cat. Yes, I did turn down two offers for Spock to endorse cat products, and no, I am not crazy. I have always considered people who would exploit their kids or their pets for personal monetary gain to be several shades of despicable. That said, now the furor has died down, I now have a community of about 7700 followers who are very interested in the pictures I post, and the messages I’m giving. I have to do something with this.
Retirement
Ever wonder what it’s like for those involved when you see something Trending and Viral? Last week, I was a happy retired lady, lunching with friends, painting for fun, and my biggest worry was the declining health of my mother in law. Then the article in our local weekly newspaper ran. My life changed instantly. And not for the better.
Cue the scream.
It all started out as a bit of a lark. Sure – run a fun fluff piece in the weekly newspaper. Agree to a local late night news story as a favor for a friend?
First, you start off with a very smart cat. Then you put him in front of a camera, with a nice cameraman who doesn’t mind having his tripod, bag and camera thoroughly sniffed, and a reporter who thinks he’s the cutest thing she’s seen in years Then you let him do his thing. How do I know? I just did it. With my own cat.
I’ve always viewed my life as a book – when one chapter finishes, the page turns, and a new one starts. This time last year, I was desperately trying to get on my boss’s calendar so I could let him know I was resigning. It would take me 3 weeks to pin him down, a fact that still gives me a chuckle. Fast forward one year, and I’m happily working on what is now my next career.
It’s been a challenging year. I’ve been visible. Then I wasn’t. Then I was again. I felt like the Cheshire Cat at times.
It was a year of Firsts, Lasts, and Never Agains. Lots of stuff has happened, and I’m still trying to process it all. Other than the year our son was born, I can’t remember any time that had this kind of upheaval. I hope it’s an anomaly, and not a new normal.
I’ve seen some of the most beautiful sights in the world on my travels, and have captured many in photographs. There were times when I was looking at the riot of color at the Floating Market in Bangkok, the cherry blossoms in Japan, or the prospect from the Great Wall of China, and I wished I could capture that in paint. Not “would”, but “could”. Trying to see if I had the ability to do that one day was what ultimately led me to take a drawing class. What kept me from signing up earlier was the certainty I would have to draw a human at some point. Murphy’s Law.
It’s not what you think, although it is a damn good lede. I’m talking about taking a bath. A glorious, hot bath that uses more than 40 gallons of precious water from our monthly allocation. Sinful, guilt-inducing decadence that is now unfortunately a fragrant whisper of memory.
Working in the tight confines of the studio, I’ve learned my hair is a great place to hold pencils, blending sticks and vine charcoal. There have been classes where I looked like a porcupine with all the tools of the trade sticking out of my head. Now I need to learn to take them out at the end of class. I recently went to the grocery store and the dry cleaners with a 2B pencil in my hair after class, and no one told me. I am well on my way to being the Neighborhood Eccentric.
We are all creatures of habit, and changing 30+ years of fully-ingrained habits is about as easy as putting together anything from IKEA – there are always screws or bolts left over that you know should have been included, but you can’t figure out where they were supposed to go. You’re left with the sinking feeling the whole thing is going to fall apart at the worst possible moment.
Today is the first day of the rest of my life. No, that is not a trite simile. I am now retired. Yesterday was tough – all the final goodbyes, the packing up of my laptop and phone, and finally, looking at my now-bare desk. Bittersweet. This six month journey was filled with experiences – some wonderful, and some challenging. I have some final comments on my work transition before this blog really becomes about retirement.
The User's Guide to Retirement 