Summer

June 20th, summer solstice, the first day of summer and the longest day. Where has this first half a year gone? With summer upon us there is lots to do. The main thing for me is preparing to move back to the country. I am not fond of city living and would rather be close to the things I enjoy doing so moving back to the Spruce Grove/Stony Plain area. I miss the openness of living on an acreage. The place I'll be moving to will allow me a bigger studio and more peace of mind to do my pottery. I've already built the kiln I want so that is one project off my plate. The second thing I have to do is make enough pots to fill my new kiln so I can fire it later this summer. Other than that I'll be working on getting fit and losing weight. I wish everyone a happy summer and hope it is a good few months ahead with lots of biking and other summer activities. 

Retirement

One year from now I’ll be handing in my resignation and retiring from a job that I’ve spent more than 35 years doing. What will I do when I retire? I plan on doing my art and pottery full time and on my terms. Being an artist/potter is more a labour of love than a job. Last summer I, with help from a few friends and family, built a wood fired kiln that will replace my gas kiln. It uses less than a cord of wood so is more economical than gas. The results will be very different than a gas kiln and will have a more aesthetically pleasing look and feel to each piece. This summer will be the first time that I’ll fire it up. The challenge now is to make enough pots to fill it. This will take some time especially when working full time, chronic conditions physically and the challenge of getting back into Kung Fu. But one pot at a time and in no time I will fill the kiln. The biggest challenge after retiring will be making a living at it. I’ll have to market myself which will be a challenge in itself as I am a very reserved and quiet person and not sure how to go about it. Oh well everything will work out one way or another.

Goals

Like most people, I have goals. Some are more of a bucket list but still count, while others require a certain process to reach them. Most have been derailed for one reason or another and others are progressing at a very slow pace. Yet again I now find that it’s time to sit down and come up with a new plan of action in order to get things back on track. This is not an easy task for me as I see the end result but can’t clearly see the path I must take to reach the end of each goal. The list is not that long and I know doable if I could really put my mind to it. The biggest hurdle I have to completing the tasks at hand is to overcome the obstacles that are holding me back. Most of the obstacles are health related which directly affect every other step I must take. Another obstacle is the task of being a care giver to both my parents who rely on me for almost everything. Both affect my time and motivation. So do I drop the list down and focus on only a few?

My two main goals are the ones that are greatly affected by time, my health and motivation. Both are equally important to me so how do I beat the fatigue, pain and lack of motivation to get through the process and requirements necessary to complete the two goals? One of them has a time limit while the other has a flexible time limit. So how do I achieve the goal when I’m not sure how to get past the obstacles?  I must carry on because the only other choice is to give up and that is not a choice I want to consider.