Winter Break

I’m officially on winter break.

I will be away from school for almost three weeks.

Almost three weeks with my husband, my children and their respective families.

Almost three weeks to read and write.

Almost three weeks to work on my goals and set meaningful and doable intentions.

Almost three weeks to get organized because that’s what I do.

Almost three weeks to make progress on projects I’ve set for myself.

Almost three weeks to do what I want to do.

Almost three weeks to stay busy with things that matter to me.

You see, I’m getting ready to retire.

I hate that word – retire – because it signals defeat to me; old age; done and forgotten. But instead of retreating, I’m experimenting with new ways to stay focused on my passions: writing, reading, and teaching.

So, I’ve started a Certificate program in Adult Learning because I want to continue working with adults.

I’ve signed on to be a tutor because I want to be in the company of children.

I am working on a book proposal so that I can share my experiences with others.

I am taking writing courses and I have a weekly writing group because I want to continue writing in a more serious and structured way, not only on professional writing, but also on memoir-ish writing. I even have an idea for a book brewing at the back of my head.

I am prioritizing my time to be in the moment with family and friends.

You see, I am not retiring when I retire. I am reinventing myself so that all the things that have always mattered to me, but often didn’t get the attention they deserved, get their due time now.

I am excited and nervous about this new chapter in my life. Sometimes, I feel anxious because going from being busy because your job demands it of you to being busy around your own projects, is a major shift. I’ll be able to focus on projects that I’ve put on the back burner for years. I will be able to focus on managing my fears and on conquering my impostor syndrome. At least, that is the plan.

Like many readers of this blog, I own a lot of books – e-books and print books – and I borrow books from the library. In fact, in just about every corner of my house, there are piles of books waiting to be read. During this school year so far, I’ve been reading more than I have in a long time. I can now envision the piles getting smaller and smaller because I will have more time to read.

I’ve also been writing a lot! I write in the morning and at night. And, I participate in a weekly writing group where I’m starting to set productive writing intentions that aren’t merely about journaling or brain dumping. Not that those writing intentions don’t have merit; it’s just that I want to do that and more.

And, the only way to do more is to face my fears head on because the only way through something hard is to just go full force ahead: we humans are wired to do hard things.

I am finally feeling fierce! It has certainly taken me a long time to get to this place, but I’ve arrived at last.

If you’re a relatively new teacher and are reading this post wondering: when will I ever find the time to focus on me? My best advice to you is not to wait. Don’t wait until you retire from the classroom to set your priorities and intentions. Do it now. It’s easier to accomplish your dreams when you’re younger. Not that it’s impossible when you’re older; it’s just more challenging. You will come across many barriers, most of them self-imposed. So, do yourself a favour and avoid those barriers by starting to dismantle them now. Decide what really matters to you and set aside time to work on that even if it’s just for a few minutes every day. Be consistent and persistent. Leave school work at home; it will still be there (and more) when you return the next day. Set a starting and ending time every day and stick to it.

You can thank me later. (Wink, wink.)