Dear George,
Since I was a kid, I’ve
worried that years rush by too quickly.
It seems like you just get done with Xmas and then here’s the next one
coming around already. Of course,
there’s a big difference between such worries at age ten, when there’s an
expectation of endless time, and senior citizenhood, which some say is a more
perilous venture. Ever since I began this blog I seem to spend more time
evaluating each year at its end.
This New Years I decided to make up a year-end quiz. In case a reader wishes to try it, it
goes like this:
(1) Which of the following words (given here in alphabetical
order) best describes 2013 for you?
Boring; challenging; confusing; exciting; frustrating; miserable;
pleasant; surprising; other (specify: _______)
(2) What is the most fitting metaphor for your year in
2013? “My life in 2013 was”: a
bouquet of roses; a frightening nightmare; a journey to new places; a prison
cell; a quiet pond; a roller coaster; a six-course banquet; other (specify:
_______)
____
(3) In which of the following
areas were you (a) most satisfied and (b) least satisfied in 2013?: Marriage and family; health and
fitness; friends and social life; music, art, and theater; travel; work;
hobbies; movies/TV/media; other (specify: ________)
(4) Compared to the previous ten years or so, was your life in
2013: (a) much better; (b) somewhat better; (c) about the same; (d) somewhat
worse; (e) much worse.
(6) In 2013 what was your most rewarding experience? Your most painful or distressing
experience?
(6) What do you hope to do in 2014 that you didn’t do in
2013?
My own quiz results were
reasonably positive. Though we didn’t go to Paris or climb a glacier, I’ve
taken advantage of the freedom associated with retirement, and my daily
activities have been centered on things I enjoy: hikes with the sheepdogs, blog
writing, photography, art museums and galleries, camping, writing poems,
working out at the fitness center, line dancing, musical theater, Friday night
movies, outings with friends.
This year I joined Katja in taking classes in the “learning in
retirement” program at the university, and that’s been more fun than I
expected. At Katja’s initiative
we’ve enjoyed subscriptions to the opera, symphony, chamber music, and
university drama/musical/opera series.
We’ve had multiple get-togethers with our NOLA family and grandkids, including
driving to Louisiana with the sheepdogs at Thanksgiving. Katja and I took the dogs on an August
camping road trip up the Lake Michigan coast in the Lower Peninsula, with all
that water and beautiful scenery.
Katja had an enjoyable vacation trip to New York City; I visited those
sweet grandchildren in NOLA. There
were lots of pleasant times, though few happenings that one might call
spectacular.
My New Year started with an
unanticipated transition. At about
10 a.m. on New Year’s Eve day the computer center notified me that the hard
drive on my office computer had crashed and I’d lost all the files I’d
accumulated over the past ten or more years. Along with lots of personal material, this included all the
electronic remnants of my academic career: papers I’d written, drafts of
research manuscripts and essays in progress, lecture notes, records from my
term as department head, correspondence, etc. It’s as if my entire academic career evaporated in a single
moment. On the one hand, that was a
startling shock. On the other, it
was sort of a relief. I have a lot
of trouble letting go of accumulated stuff, and a crashed computer confirmed
that my career has irrevocably ended.
Given my computer disaster,
I’ve been thinking about 2014 in a new way. 2013 is over and done, and it’s time to set aside the past
and work on new beginnings. As
they say, “out with the old, in with the new.” That could mean ending old things (e.g., spending less time
at the computer); doing more of liked things (e.g., reading more New York Times
articles); and adding new activitiess (e.g., new arts and crafts projects,
travel). In any case, when I do my
quiz again twelve months from now, I hope I’ll be able to say that 2014 was
“much better” than the preceding decade.
Six days into the New Year, it’s been pretty good so far. That is, except for the Bengals’ and
Packers’ NFL playoff losses.
Love,
Dave
G-Mail Comments
-Gayle C-L
(1-7): David, Once a Professor ALWAYS a Professor
!!!! Happy New Year!! XXX
-Phyllis S-S
(1-7): Dear Dave, I think you are
a 1/2 full glass person - nonetheless - I am sorry again that your computer at
work crashed. I HATE thinking and
looking for a new car. It continues. Loved the questionnaire - I'm so happy it turns out though
I'd guessed that was true - I could still improve my happiness rating though. Did
I tell you that last year I read a book I found in a thrift store that had been
a big bestseller called "The Happiness Project?" I found it
really worthwhile. Stay warm, Phyllis
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