Ever since I retired from teaching a month ago to focus on full-time writing, countless people have asked me things like -- "How ya like retirement?" or "Getting bored yet?" or even "Ready to go back to teaching?" The answers to those basically go like this -- "I love it, but I left teaching to write full time, so I'm still working." and "Hell, no. I've never been bored a day in my life (except during teaching in-services -- talk about a slow, torturous death)." and "Absolutely not. No way. Never. Hell no. Ask me again in ten years, and we'll see if I feel any differently."
So, yes, I did, in fact, retire from teaching after 30 years of teaching and coaching junior high and high school students. A few people in my town don't actually know that because absolutely no mention of it was made anywhere by anyone but me. (Yes, I'm a tad pissy about that, but who cares?) I guess they were as happy to get rid of me as I was to leave teaching. Now, don't get me wrong -- I enjoyed teaching (in fact, if teaching were only about teaching, I'd probably still be doing it), but I hated all the other aspects of the job that don't involve teaching, and I was ready to leave that all behind. I don't want to parent my students, I don't want to police them, I don't want to be their therapists, and I don't want to know anything about their sex lives. I just wanted to teach them how to speak Spanish and how to appreciate language and literature. That's not enough anymore. And don't even get me started on the mind-boggling constantly changing technology that I can't even begin to keep up with. So, I left teaching to do the one thing I've always wanted to do -- write.
In the month I've been doing this, I've had people ask me what I'm doing with myself. I answer, "I'm writing." Sometimes I get a blank stare. Other times I get a "You write?" I sigh at that reaction because I've been a columnist for almost twelve years, and I have two published books, so far. Others politely ask me what I write, so I tell them. Some listen and seem interested, and some listen and then seem truly puzzled as to how I just sit down and make up stuff. Anyway, let's just say it's a transition for people in my town to stop thinking of me as a teacher and start thinking of me as a writer, and I'm sure many of them never will make that transition. That's okay, but what's not okay is this sentiment that I'm not going to have anything to do with my time now that I'm not teaching.
Believe me, I don't have enough hours in the day for all the stuff I both want to do and need to do. Aside from writing the column, I'm finishing three novels, writing feature stories for a newspaper, writing this and a second blog, attempting to learn how to market myself on social media, reaching out to libraries and bookstores in the hopes of gaining some speaking/reading opportunities along with places to sell my books, and I'm constantly churning out new story ideas that may or may not ever be written.
Additionally, I have a LOT of hobbies that I like to make time to do as often as possible. Here are a few of them:
I read. Every. Single. Day. Even if I only get in ten minutes before falling asleep at night, no day is complete for me if it didn't include reading; however, now that I'm structuring my daily life around literature, I try to read and study past great writers every morning. Currently, I'm making my way through Ralph Waldo Emerson, and then I'll move on to Walt Whitman and Emily Dickinson. I learned that I'm a Transcendentalist at heart a couple years ago, and I'm trying to make up for all the years I spent unaware of the likes of Emerson and Thoreau. I also buy and own many, many books. My collection is quite large and will surely grow much larger in the coming years.
I now paint. I started doing watercolor painting a year ago, and I really enjoy it. I also make bookmarks which showcase my painting as well as my writing website (tammymarshallauthor.wordpress.com) which is written on the back of each bookmark. Currently, I have a small obsession with painting cacti as you can tell by the photos of my most recent bookmarks.
I cross stitch. I've done it for years and have many finished pieces displayed around the house. The one I'm attempting to complete now is of the Sagrada Familia cathedral in Barcelona. Sadly, I began it years ago and still haven't finished it -- the church itself, long left unfinished after the death of its architect, Antonio Gaudi, will probably be completed before I ever get mine done, but that's okay.
I do yoga every morning. During the school years, I only managed to get a quick set of stretches in each morning before heading off to work, but now I'm slowly working my way up to longer sessions and hope to consistently be doing 20-30 minutes each morning by the end of the summer.
I like to walk, preferably outside with the dog, so I'm trying to factor in a walk, even a short one, in the evenings. So far, making this a solid habit has eluded me, but I'll keep trying. I also like to take photos while I walk. I think my uncle, Paul Filsinger, is with me when I walk because I notice things now that I think only he would have seen. (He passed away last October, and you can read about him in this same blog if you didn't see it then.)
While I may no longer be teaching Spanish, I do plan to keep myself up on it, so I do a mini-lesson each day. I'm also learning and perfecting my Italian, so I also do a mini-lesson of that language. I try to read something in one of the languages each week, too.
Since I'm bilingual, and trying to become multilingual, I love to travel. Naturally, I can't do that on a daily basis, but factoring in the time to travel is an important part of my future plans. Right after the school year finished, I did go on a short vacation to Missouri. You can read about it in my other blog, readrideandroam.blogspot.com, if you are interested. Future trips will include return visits to Spain, Italy, and Mexico, as well as to new places abroad and here in the States.
Additionally, I love to swim, and I would really like to find a way to implement some lap swimming on a regular basis. I love riding my motorcycle, and I look forward to being able to do that on days when I'd normally be stuck in school. I also love doing puzzles, both the word kind and the kind that have 2,000-3,000 pieces. I want to get back into writing and performing stand-up comedy, I have a pile of stuff I want to add to some scrapbooks, and I sell Mary Kay to a few customers.
I have other hobbies as well, but by now, it should be clear that there really aren't enough hours in the day for me to do even half the things I enjoy doing. It should also be clear that I was serious when I said that I'm never bored, especially if I have a book, a writing journal, a word puzzle, or just my imagination to keep me occupied during things that might otherwise bore me.
Let's not forget that I have family and friends with whom I want to spend some time. Kim and I will have been together for seven years by this time next week. He's my rock and the reason I was able to retire early from teaching. I've never experienced the kind of support he gives me, and I'm so thankful for him every day.
My kids are both grown up, but I still love spending time with them. My son will be coaching all three sports this coming school year, and I plan to attend as many of those events as possible. My daughter will be moving to Tennessee to get her Master's in paleontology to fulfill the dream she first had as a seventh grader after I took her to Ashfall Fossil Beds that summer. Of course, I will be visiting her there often.
My parents are nearby, I have family and friends both near and far who I want to see more often, and I hope to make many new friends in the literary world as my experience and my circles grow there.
So, yes, I've retired from teaching, and I'm loving it. No, I'm absolutely not bored. I do not plan to return to teaching or even to sub, for now. I am writing every day. Sometimes I'm writing part of a book, sometimes I'm editing, sometimes I'm writing a column, sometimes I'm writing a newspaper article, sometimes I'm writing a blog post, sometimes I'm writing stuff that's only meant for me to see, and sometimes I'm writing ideas for future things to write. I am now a writer. Retired teacher. Full-time writer and author. 100% happy.
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