Life in Two Time Zones

Have been feeling a bit fragmented during the past month. We took a huge leap and we purchased a home in the town where we hope to eventually retire. All this thinking of slowing down and taking life a bit more easy is highly contagious. It makes me almost yearn for the next few years to pass quickly, which according to my sainted grandmother is "wishing your life away" and a huge no-no! So I am not going to focus on that in this post, but rather on what this choice represents for Ed and I.

Our new house is six hours away from where we presently live and work. It is to be a vacation/holiday house until the time comes when we can move there permanently. I am really excited in that this is the first time we have actually chosen where we want to live.

In our profession, Lutheran teaching, you go where you are "called" to be and that could take you anywhere. Often it is in a direction away from what is familiar or what is near family. So for 40 years of our married life we have done just that. We have lived 35 of those years where we presently are, but it wasn't a place we chose for ourselves. We came here because we were asked to come here, felt it was where we could serve, and we stayed. But we miss the North.

Michigan, with its lakes, beaches, and winter snow,  will always be "home" to us. One of our daughters and her family live in the town where we will be retiring. The new house is a little smaller than our current house. Going to be downsizing and are pretty excited to think about that. It's all a new and somewhat strange way to be thinking about the future while still fully functioning in our current roles and employment.

The new house is in a different time zone both literally and metaphorically speaking. Where we presently live is our life full of schedules, demands, and commitments. Where we will live in the future is a wide open and rather unstructured lifestyle with the freedom to do as we please and to enjoy times with our extended family. I am so grateful that we are at a point where we can do this. It feels like we have "plans" and some direction for our coming years. God-willing there will be many happy times spent in our new home even as we wait to get to live there permanently. One week from today we sign the papers and the adventure of "two time zones" officially begins! Praying that it will be blessed in many new and exciting ways as we transition into it!

Delaying Gratification

When I was a new parent, I remember reading a lot about how to teach a child to delay gratification. Mind you, I was in teacher training at the time, and my daughter Gret got to be a guinea pig for many of the classroom skills I was learning to use. Ed used to laugh at me and state that "she will either end up very smart or hopelessly confused!" I think she's done pretty well as she's now working as a University Vice-President and raising two very lovely girls of her own! (brag moment there, sorry!)

Anyways, the gist of the above is that I am presently reflecting on this very vital life/school skill and actually putting some of it into practice in my personal life. As a few of you know, we recently found the "house of our dreams" for retirement in my husband's hometown of St. Joseph, Michigan. We went up this summer with only intent to "start looking" and literally stumbled upon the house that fit ALL our wishlist requirements. So what do you do? Well, you buy it, of course; because when you are ready to retire, you don't want the house that fits you perfectly belonging to someone else! So we did just that. And now, the itch to retire has become a very present and much more obvious reality. One that I will have to learn to control, since at present I am only 62 and not yet eligible for Medicare. However, we will get to use our "house of dreams" in the summers and on holidays for the next few years, and should grace or gainful employment allow us to relocate in advance of our retirement ages, that would be an added blessing. It's really exciting and awesome to think about a place sort of waiting for you. Decisions about the future are never easy, so having the "where" of this figured out makes figuring out the "when" of it a little less stressful.

Now to thinking about school. I am forcing myself to physically work in my classroom this week... since we go back to meetings next week and start classes the week following. I am making myself get up, do my a.m. routine, and everything. Had fun cleaning and puttering in the classroom today and am sitting at my desk there as I write this. How will I teach my students patience and delay of gratification this year. Will they be willing to trust themselves to wait for good results as they work through their writing and thinking with me this term. I have a large bunch of sophomores this year for a change. I love their puppy-like energy and enthusiasm. They are so focused on the "Big thing" (driving) that looms on their horizon in this year of their lives. They make me smile since I can still recall the first time I stepped on an accelerator with my dad beside me in the front seat bravely believing I would not, in fact, kill him! Patience is a virtue... and we can all use more; myself included! Have a great day!

Such A KnitWit

I have an addiction... yep...

My name is Claudia and I'm a knit-aholic. Can't walk past a yarn shop or craft store without sneaking down an aisle where I can put the squeeze on a few skeins of wooly stuff. Have two Rubbermaid bins FULL of the stuff at home too. My daughters pray that before I die I use it all up - but they have NO idea the extent to which I love to look at yarn. I bring it home with me from wherever I get to travel, I read magazines devoted to the hobby, and I am an active member of Ravelry.com which is like Facebook for knitters/crocheters (yeah, I do that too, just not as much!)




This past week, I finally opened my very first Etsy site and whether I ever sell anything or not, I love putting my stuff up there to showcase and hopefully attract a customer or two. I have several secrets dreams that go with this addiction... so this might be a good place to put them out there for real....

First, just like Ed has his winery... I dream about owning a yarn shop. Actually, a combination bookstore and yarn shop. I think reading, talking about books, and knitting go together quite nicely and it would be endlessly fun to own a shop.

My second dream is more bizarre than my first. If I couldn't own an actual shop, I would LOVE to own a few sheep and at least ONE alpaca so that I could learn how to spin my own yarn from my OWN wool source! Now this one would be pretty do-able if we ever were to build a house out at our vineyard.... I could easily keep a couple of sheep and an alpaca on the space we have.

Now that you know what a knitwit I am, I'll quietly go back to working on the hat I am making. Just had to post this out there... cos' today has been a perfect knitting day out at the vineyard. I have been sitting in the sun, knitting away to my heart's content, and yes, - RELAXING. I challenge any of you, dear readers, to pick up a pair of needles, grab a glass of wine or mug of coffee, and join me!