Monday, September 22, 2014

And We'll Have Fun, Fun, Fun . . .

 Remake myself for the "second half" of life, get rid of bad habits, cultivate new ones, look at life with a fresh perspective, go forward without all the baggage.  That's the plan. So far my goals are to keep a clean organized house, eat healthy and exercise, manage my time and money, tame my tongue, control my anger . . .  but it doesn't all have to be so serious. Sometimes a girl just wants to have fun, right?   I don't mean the big-ticket items, like spending time with my kids and grandkids, traveling, or shopping at Hobby Lobby - but the stuff that I can make a part of every day to make life "fun".   My ideas of fun fall into three divisions: Books,  Social Networks, and Creativity.   

I'll get back to the first two areas later, but for now - a word on creativity.  "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth." - Genesis 1:1  "God created man in His own image." - Genesis 1:27.  If God is the creator, and we are made in His image, we are creators also.  I believe we all have the need and the ability to be creative.  Maybe you express it with blue-ribbon-winning quilts, maybe you paint beautiful pictures, maybe you sing, or build furniture, or bake cupcakes.  Maybe your creativity comes out in your organizational skills or event planning or teaching Sunday School.  Maybe you don't see any creativity in your life, but I promise you, the potential is there - you just don't recognize it.

Don't limit yourself to one form of creativity.  I never thought I had any "artistic" abilities - - and I was right.  I can't draw anything beyond a stick figure, but I can do intricate cross-stitch (at least I could before bifocals),  I can make simple quilts and sewing projects, and draw Zentangles, and knit on a loom.  I can tat lace and I can play the piano (even though I don't much any more), and I can write a story. Most recently,  I discovered that I can paint with watercolors.  Do I do all of these things skillfully?  No.  Do I have fun trying?  Absolutely!  And once in a while, something turns out well and I am as surprised as any one.

Actually, my issue is that I can't - or don't - narrow it down.  I jump from project to project, with very little getting finished in a timely manner.  At times I think I should narrow my focus.  If I gave up some areas, I would have more time (and money) to become proficient at others.  But . . . nah!  One of the joys of life after fifty is that I have more "me" time and less concern about what other people think. I love the experience of trying new things, and if my watercolor paintings aren't gallery worthy, I'm ok with that.  

This quote from David Louis hangs on the wall of my craft/sewing room:

Never ask for approval in your work.  Life is your own, inspiration is your own, you create alone, and the results are your own - and that's good enough.

3 comments:

  1. I have been struggling of late with "retirement". (My apologies to say this to all of those folks who have to work and think I am crazy.) It is a struggle as to what to do with my day...not because there is not enough to do, not because I am bored... but because there is no schedule or focus or goal and I feel I am being aimless. I really like your three divisions of fun - Books, Social Network and Creativity. It is sort of an epiphany for me that I really am doing something when I think I am doing nothing. I am reading, love your book reviews and take several of my choices from your suggestions. I have hosted several dinner parties and game nights and have kept up my blogging, so another checkmark for social networking. As for creativity I have jumped around from flute playing to choral (church) singing to chorus (broadway style music) singing, to ballroom dancing, to home redecorating projects, to knitting, to quilting. Please do not construe this as bragging. These are just examples of how scattered I feel. I truly had my eyes opened by reading your point of view and ideas. The funk I am in is beginning to lift and I see potential. Thank you again. Keep posting. Your blogs resonate with me. I no longer view my hop-scotchy approach to creativity as bad and the sign of a disorganized person. Engineer by training, it was always very important to me to be logical and organized and I was so for over thirty years on the job. The quote from your later post (I read them backwards in time) about the grandfather's words are so true. Keep telling me I am not falling apart and I will start to believe it!

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  2. You both sound very creative to me and I also understand the restlessness that can come with feeling scattered. There has been one time in my life as of the last l0 years that I haven't felt scattered and I think I will write a blog post about it! Enjoyed reading this post and comment!

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  3. We're at the same point in life. Hubby and I have been discussing what we want to do for the next 50 years. wow, that's a lot of time when you think about it. I have decided on a few things. First, get my physical house in order. that's a big one. To accomplish that, I'll also work on another, which is to finish projects already started, and boy are there lots of them.

    Along with that, I want more education. First up is an online literature class.

    Keep being creative. I love to view your work and would proudly display one of your watercolours or tangles or what ever. A few years ago, I wanted to encourage some of the kids I know. The one girl, I offer to trade, if she drew me a picture, i'd sew her something. I have a lovely drawing and she received a pillow case. Another girl, I traded for a pair of beaded earrings she made, again, I sewed her a pillow case. i want to continue doing such things well into the next 50.

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