How's It Going?

As I sit in my living room watching the rain hit the windows and hear the thunder in the distance, I think about how my life has changed since I retired last June.  This school year is 3/4 done and I have had time to explore many options for retirement. Most have been enjoyable and all have been learning experiences. In my next few blogs, I will be touching on things I have done and reviewing for myself, as well as anyone else who happens to read them. 

I have had the chance to write blogs for my teacher friends and even strangers who just happen upon my blog. It has been fun searching and researching topics of interest and then sharing what I learn with others. I have felt connected with the education world by using my writing as that connection. It is great to hear what teachers are doing in the classroom and I even got invited to a few rooms to watch the wonderful work that is happening there.

I have had the chance to work in a couple classrooms on a regular basis...not every day or even every week, but often enough for me to get my "kid fix" and feel a part of those rooms. Both rooms were fifth grades but from different school districts. These visits gave me material to  share with my readers and kept me informed as to what is happening in the school world.

I have had the chance to enjoy my grandchildren. I go every Wednesday to Story Time at the library here in town with Graham, my 2 1/2 year old grandson and his family. It is wonderful to watch him interact with other children and listen to stories, sing songs and do crafts. I also have Meron, my four year old granddaughter, come to my house and we have Gramma Preschool twice a month. We have done many fun activities like make play dough, frost cookies, play with magnetic letters, read books, do science experiments and play math games. She is now all excited about entering kindergarten next year.

I have had the chance to go for long walks with Dave, my three-year-old golden retriever. We walk every day in our neighborhood on two mile walks several times a day. We also went in town and walked for four miles with our friend, Sarah.  We even went once to the Rieke Trail on the other side of town. That is something we will do more often as the weather gets better.

I have had the chance to do more exercising and have lost about 15 lbs!  I always have enjoyed running and walking, but now I have time to use the elliptical machine. I use it several times a day and just love the way it makes me feel. I think I am in better shape now than I have ever been...even when I was running marathons. I am looking forward to the weather getting warmer so I can start running outside and biking!  Oh, yes, and for our pool to open, so I can start swimming again!

I can't forget having the chance to travel. I have gone to Florida, New York City, Detroit baseball game, Chicago, Spanish Fork, Utah, and Las Vegas. I visited a school in NYC, did a lesson in a classroom in Utah, saw a dance troupe in Chicago and a concert in Las Vegas. We have many  more trips planned for the future. Can't wait to share my trips with my readers!

As you can see, I have been busy. I will go into depth with each of these activities in the next few weeks. Come on back and share what's next!