New Beginnings....

The third anniversary of this blog finds me in the unique position of being free to spend my time as I please. In August of 2023 I handed in my notice to the Principal of my college, and on November 30, 2023, I bid a slightly tearful goodbye to an institution that had occupied almost all of my conscious thought since 2006. I left with mixed feelings, but with absolutely no regrets.

I say mixed feelings because the college had kept me completely busy for 17 years with lectures, students, examinations, reports, deadlines, meetings, NAAC, website, magazine, and committees. Teaching is a full-time job, so naturally, I took my work home. The college often saw more of me than did my family. Vacations were eagerly awaited, therefore. Of late, the powers that be thought it was their right to encroach upon this period as well. For 17 years, in short, I had been so wrapped up in college work that I had forgotten how to allocate time for myself.

After all this hectic activity, resigning seemed to be an immense step. People kept asking me what I planned to do at home. Perhaps the question was meant well (let’s give them the benefit of doubt), but it irked me no end. What I heard lurking behind those words was the implication that I was ill-adapted or unable to do anything else except the college job. Admittedly, I was good at it (as the many attempts to change my mind seemed to testify), but that’s not all I am good for. Now is my chance to prove my mettle.

A friend of my parents had once told them that I was of a scholarly temperament and took delight in learning. He urged them to let me learn as much as I wanted to. As I was in my late teens then, my parents and I naturally related this to academic learning. In fact, being of quite a lazy disposition, I also privately thought the man was delusional as it was hard enough for me to focus on the course work, let alone volunteer to do extra academic work. But as time passed, I found that the gentleman had been right — I do like to learn new things. I also now feel a confidence in my abilities that I had lacked earlier; I find if I put my mind to it, I have the ability to learn and do a lot of things I may not have considered earlier.

Having said that, it is now time to put this new found confidence to the test. Learning new skills is relatively easy as compared to unlearning old habits. Having lived by deadlines and schedules for so long, it is now necessary for me to unlearn this structured approach to life and adopt a more laid-back attitude. Although I like to make detailed plans for spending time even on vacations, I need to learn to be more relaxed and spontaneous. Retirement is meant to make time for oneself, and as I have been fortunate enough to be able to retire early I can make the most of this time that is now mine alone.

So what do I want to do with this second innings that is now ‘me-time’? Well, after four months of leaving college, I find that my thoughts have become more focused. I had initially planned to do a lot of reading and writing. Also, as I am good at editing I had decided to take up freelance editing assignments. But over the last four months I have found that I have done so much editing work over the years that I now want to take a vacation even from that. I hardly get any writing done these days (although I feel that that will happen when I am ready for it). Reading continues, but even that has taken a back seat to a new hobby I have taken up: crochet.

Crochet was something that had fascinated me from the time I tried it in school. One year, our needlework teachers thought it would be fun to tell us that we had to learn to crochet (but they would not deign to teach us) and that the exam would consist of preparing a swatch as per their specifications. Needless to say, with no one to teach me, I failed spectacularly. I was not hurt by the fail grade — I had never expected to pass anyway. But the fun of messing around with a crochet hook and thread stayed with me, and now I find I enjoy it immensely. The satisfaction of learning new stitches and techniques to create lovely objects is really something that cannot be described. FB and YouTube are good teachers, and there are communities of enthusiastic fellow crocheters on FB who are always willing and able to keep one going with help and encouragement. I have managed to undertake a few simple projects and gift them to my family, all of whom have professed themselves delighted with them (they’re either too polite or too intimidated to say otherwise!). If I get better at the craft, I may plan to try and commercialise my work. Already friends have given me umpteen ideas on how to sell, and all that’s lacking right now is the confidence that what I create is good enough to sell. Perhaps I now need to learn to be an entrepreneur!

So, it’s an exciting phase of life that I have entered. I plan to give more time to the family, take fun trips to places I have never visited, learn to crochet better, grow my yarn stash, take up editing assignments, teach literature as a visiting faculty member, and enjoy life to the fullest!