Sunday, March 1, 2015

Un-Skilled


    

         I think I’ve hit the sweet spot of life. I’m retired, I’m still ambulatory and as far I can tell, I still have the majority of my mental faculties.
This stage of life has that feeling of finishing that last exam in your last semester of college. Only this is a different kind of freedom, one with less moving forward and more letting go, not always a bad thing.
          For instance, the other day I realized that over the course of my lifetime I’ve acquired any number of skills I’ll no longer need. Some left me long ago, like the forearm that rivaled Popeye’s when I scooped ice cream all night at Friendly’s. Or the ability to carry a 20 pound child with my left arm while simultaneously bringing in groceries, unpacking them, and starting dinner. 
          Now, amazingly,  I can do One. Thing. At. A. Time. and longer need to use the level of uber multi-tasking I first honed as a mother and then brought with me to the classroom. I might have been presenting the background for Macbeth while at the same time signing a pass for the student leaving early, giving the texter in the third row the evil eye, and deciding when to intervene between the two football players horsing around in the back of the room. After I began teaching, I developed real respect for that man on the Ed Sullivan Show who kept all those plates in the air.
          Before teaching, I oversaw a public access television studio. As much as I enjoyed that job, when I left I was happy I no longer had to swallow my fear of heights and climb that huge studio ladder to position lights weighing the equivalent of a suitcase packed for two week trip. Those were also the days of television cameras with tubes; a three-camera production would require that all three be engineered to provide a seamless transition from one shot to another.  English majors aren’t usually noted for their technical skills, and I had learned j u s t enough to get by. It was a relief to hand over my tiny tweeking screwdriver to my replacement and know I’d never have to display that kind of counterfeit confidence again.
          I think most retirees will agree it was difficult to leave our working world identities behind, but taking off those hats we used to wear from 9 to 5 can also mean we can now concentrate on simply being who we are. We may discover we’re even more interesting than we ever were before.  

14 comments:

  1. Oh, all this is so true! I also have many skills that are no longer needed, and even though at one time I enjoyed multitasking, now... not so much. This was a good read, Mary. Thank you! :-)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Who was it that said, true happiness is an absence of ambition? Can't remember but I am beginning to see what he (or she) meant, just as I found out that ,'May you live an interesting life' really is a curse and not a blessing!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. True. The older I get the more I'm learning to enjoy the upside to "dull."

      Delete
  3. "Difficult to leave our working identities"...surely you jest I did the mambo all the way out the door and down the sidewalk and never looked back once. The only thing I miss about working is the paycheque.

    ReplyDelete
  4. So true! It took me the whole first year of retirement to convince myself that I could stop multi tasking and keeping all those plates spinning at the same time, that it was no longer necessary. Bliss!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, I'm learning to run from responsibility at top speed.

      Delete
  5. I remember those days of housework with a child under one arm while the other arm did everything else.
    No wonder my shoulders are stuffed!
    I wasn't at all sorry to leave my working life behind.

    ReplyDelete
  6. My mother raised multi tasking to an art form. She even tried cooking Sunday's roast on the manifold during the drive to grandma's.

    ReplyDelete
  7. I've heard that we really can't multitask. It's not in our nature.

    But more importantly, why isn't Friendly's countrywide?? Or worldwide??

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. My claim to fame? - I live in the town that houses Friendly's headquarters.

      Delete
  8. You nail it in the final paragraph. We have time to reflect on our life. Teaching was rewarding and exciting but the pace was too fast.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Every day is an adventure in retirement:)

    ReplyDelete
  10. I loved my profession of psychiatric nurse when I was in it but at the end I was ready to retire. Now I love retirement- the time to do what I like, travel where I want and sculpt a life on my terms. The biggies besides traveling are writing my blog and running. Who would have thought? Good post.

    ReplyDelete
  11. You are so right but I don't miss those talents one whit. The joy of knowing that all but Dr. appointments can be put off for another day when a better offer comes along is so freeing. I was a born slacker locked in a 110% employee's body for 40 years. Ahhhhh.

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for stopping by and I'd love to hear what you think.