The joy of having hobbies!

As I was getting ready to retire a few months ago, I would often get asked - what are you going to do when you retire? My response was usually something like "anything I want to". The reality is that for some people, that is a hard question - they honestly don't know what they would do if they retired. I am so fortunate that I have a lot of interests that keep me as busy as I want to be, maybe even a bit more sometimes. I am finally getting to spend time in my workshop working on making. I love working with wood, but through my woodturning I have also learned to make some things from acrylic. I have always been a self-proclaimed software junkie, which started when I started teaching in the 80's. I was in awe of what could be done with "advanced programs" like BankStreet Writer, or PrintShop Pro. Oooooh - the banners!! Soon the word processors (WYSIWYG was revolutionary - IYKYK) and spreadsheets and graphics programs advanced by leaps and bounds, and trying to keep up with the capabilities of those was a wonderful challenge, and I loved it.
Combining those two things - woodworking and software - the natural leap was to get a laser, where once again, I am knee deep in a variety of software, Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop, and Lightburn, the software that actually runs the laser. And of course that branches into things that aren't wood too. Now throw in a website (I made a lot of websites in the 90's and that has advanced a bit too!!!!) and a newsletter done through Mailchimp and I am spending a whack of time with my computer these days. All good.

I also enjoy doing a bunch of other stuff - I curl once a week (and watch a bit of it), I like to golf in the summer, and joined an indoor league in January when I retired. I like to hike (I try to do one major backcountry hike each year with some buddies), and have been walking much more now than I was when I was working, so that is good. We like to camp and travel, and expect to do much more of that in the coming years. During the COVID restrictions, I picked up the guitar and started learning to play in earnest - I had tried once or twice before but never got very far. Now i play a bit almost every day, and is one of the things I do while the laser is chugging away, as I need to be in the same room with it in case something goes wrong. Don't hold your breathe waiting to hear me play - with my skills, deep in the basement is still the best venue for me !I have also taken on a few volunteering opportunities this year already, and really enjoy that.

Between my wife and I we have eight adult kids, and with them comes six grandchildren - and there is nothing better than spending time with them.

The biggest challenge I am finding is not to find things to do, it is balancing all the different things that I want to do! The joy of having lots of hobbies!