Category: Retired Life
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Grief By the Numbers at Five Months
After… 28 years of marriage3300 nights together23 weeks since Jerry died153 days since Jerry died3 times I’ve left the house wearing mismatched socks8 physical books I’ve read6 times I’ve snapped at someone who is just trying to help me7 days I have baked goodies20 times I’ve remembered the day we met148 mornings I’ve kept to my chronological Bible-reading plan5 times…
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Five Things I’ll Never Miss About the First Days of the New School Year
The moments raced, but the week went on and on: An odd paradox for the week that school resumed each year. Every afternoon, I dragged myself home and let Jerry tell me what was for supper and when. I was too exhausted from leaving a summer of haphazard fun and lack of responsibilities to the rigid…
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The First Week of School: What A Retired Teacher Still Misses
As a recently retired secondary English teacher, I still get a little nostalgic for the first days of school. After getting my classroom ready and after a restless pre-first-day night, the excitement of getting acquainted with a new cohort of students propelled me through the first exhausting week of school. I miss several parts of those…
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Five Things This Retired Teacher Still Loves About Back-to-School Season
Any day now, it’ll be back to the classroom for several of my teacher friends. But not for me! I’ve been retired for a few years now. Even though I don’t miss teaching in a secondary English classroom, five things about this time of year still warm my heart: 1.) Catching a really good sale…
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The Kids in Your Life Need Manga
This week, I’m exhausted but happy after a weeklong visit from my sweet ten-year-old granddaughter! We’ve packed in all sorts of fun activities, including a couple of trips to the bookstore, where Chloe picked up some new reading material in her favorite genre: manga! I’ve turned over this space to her today. Read on as…
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When the World Literally Starts Spinning
Nothing seems straight these days. Aside from Jerry’s dying in the hospital just as we were ready to leave after his heart surgery and recovery, other things aren’t quite lining up, either. I first noticed it in my kitchen. In those early days of wanting the kids nearby, I offered to make supper for us…
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What’s your birthday gift to the USA? A lesson from Monticello
Last Fourth of July, my husband and I were on the road, headed home from Colonial Williamsburg with our nine-year-old granddaughter. We saw the sign for Jefferson’s Monticello and decided to take the tour. The home itself had always fascinated me, but somehow, we’d never been this close or had the time to stop. This…
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Working Together – Apart
It was always Jerry’s. I tried to leave it alone, even when I learned something new or remembered something from my class taught by the experts. But now, without him, the garden along the fence- his garden- is a mess. Eventually, we learned a secret to sustain our successful second marriage. Or else we came…
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Living Up to a Surprising Family Legacy
I have an impressive role model. Seven years ago today, I spent the day in New Castle, Indiana, paging through musty books, peering at microfilm newspaper articles, and digging through gigantic, bound court record books. My son Ted Shideler and I were just starting my second Lilly Teacher Creativity Fellowship Award project. For the past…
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One Month Later: Knowing Myself is Crucial
At 66, I’ve learned a thing or two. Much about teaching and learning, of course. Also a bit about succeeding and “failing.” And a good deal about myself, too. This past month has been the ultimate exam in how well I know myself. One thing I’ve learned during this past month of my new situation-…
