wattsup next?: The first day, reinvented.

After 19 years as a student followed immediately by 35 years as a teacher, today is the first day of school in 54 years that I am not 'going to school'. True enough, I had 2 maternity leaves that allowed me to be at home in a September, and one deferred salary leave, however, those were temporary times off. Because I knew I'd be returning each of those years, my mind was very much still 'in the game'.
This year feels quite different. I confess I've thought of almost nothing else, so clearly I haven't let it go quite yet, however, I feel an increasing separation from the reality of education this fall. Some of it is purely practical. Instead of back to school shopping, I've been doing British holiday shopping (I leave next Tuesday!). Instead of classroom prep, I'm making packing lists. I didn't help Trish set up her classroom this year. Part of it was timing, but another part was quite simply school avoidance. I'm not having back to school dreams. Bliss. The most interesting thing I'm experiencing is a growing sense of leisure. Pace of life and anxiety were big reasons for retiring, so feeling relaxed is welcomed! Even today, when I had to set my alarm way earlier than I wanted to make a breakfast date, it was actually fun getting ready and I knew that I could walk out of the house with keys and my little purse - not the bazillion bags that would normally weigh me down on the first day of school....and I'd still have forgotten something! And no thinking about lunch - hallelujah!
So, more about the breakfast date. Four of us who are newly retired teachers met at Langdon Hall for champagne breakfast. It was glorious. Conversation was about recent and upcoming trips, recommended reading, watercolour painting classes, our kids and our parents - and hardly a word about work. Retired teachers are a happy lot.

Here's a wee taste of the retirement version of the first day of school...