Impermanence
I finished reading Whistler by Ann Patchett a couple of days ago. I’m still thinking about it.
Maybe I liked it because I’m roughly the same age as the main character in it? i could read some of the sentences and relate them to where I’m at right now - rightly or wrongly. It’s all interpretation and projection and based on your experience, how can it be otherwise? (I don’t suppose I should overthink it.)
I like this:
I've been reading about impermanence. That's the part about retiring that no one tells you, how you get to read any book you want to read.
True for me at the moment. And when you retire, having so much time to do what you like, no longer constrained by the demands of the working week - it’s still sometimes unbelievable to me and still precious. And I don’t think I’ve been able to describe the feeling properly to those who aren’t retired.
I’ve noticed that people who aren’t retired always ask what I am doing these days. If I say I’m doing volunteer work and talk about how my week is structured they seem happy to know I’m doing something and I have a routine. If I am vague about it and don’t mention volunteering - and say I enjoy sitting in my front yard listening to the local birds, for example - some people seem uncomfortable and don’t know what to say. I’m a bit perverse and sometimes I like to tell people about the birds in my yard and then give them something to relate to by telling them about the volunteer work.
I’m not explaining myself very well and who knows what the point is of this post anyway. (Apologies to anyone reading who might have gotten this far.) It’s 11:38pm and I should try to get some sleep.