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Saturday, June 17, 2017

Three Weeks into Retirement

For readers who haven't heard me exulting all the way from central Texas, I retired at the end of May, after a long career in education.  I began as an elementary school teacher back in 1975 -- here I am with my very first class.

In between, my husband and I earned our doctorates at the University of Georgia, then worked at FSU for 11 years and LSU for eight, then spent the last 17 years at Baylor University. Primarily, I was an administrator, but I also taught one class -- Sociology of Education -- each semester.  Here I am with students from my very last class -- on Portfolio and Pizza Day.


Immediately after my exit interview on my last afternoon at work, my husband whisked me away for a week at the beach with our children and grandchildren.  Our daughter found a great house to rent at Surfside (west of Galveston), and we all had a fabulous time together, with lots of beach time, games, cooking, etc.  Here's a photo my older granddaughter took from the deck.


Here's my youngest grandchild enjoying the beach.


The house had a very well-equipped kitchen, and we made cookies twice and brownies once.


After the week at the beach, we returned home, where I wrote a to-do list about a mile long, then got busy.  I have been going through drawers and cabinets, culling items for a neighborhood garage sale in August, and I was also in a sewing mood.  I made a new cover for my sewing machine, a dress for my granddaughter (can you tell I love piping?), and -- by her special request -- a baseball uniform for her doll.




I have also resumed daily morning walks with my husband, and the late afternoons are spent with him, relaxing in our pool.  I've also gone to lunch with friends -- a special "perk" of retirement -- and renewed my library card!  I have some big projects planned for later this summer -- painting a couple of rooms and possibly even -- gulp -- upholstery.  Thanks to all my Blogland friends for continually inspiring me with your ambitious projects! Keep 'em coming!