On July 13, 2023 I will officially begin my first full day as a retired District Superintendent (DS). I am working diligently at wrapping up my role well. I want to depart the Pacific Southwest Movement on solid ground. The individual who most likely will be next is highly qualified and will do an outstanding job.
In the midst of my decelerating in my current role, I do find myself thinking how I might accelerate into whatever my next might be. I am pondering things I might try. None of them I may be good at. None I may keep up long term. But I want to make my initial post-DS months the time of the TRY. I simply want to try things.
A couple I have added to my mental list:
Learn a musical instrument. The front runners are guitar or piano.
Expand my involvement in the arts. I fancy myself a writer, and I plan to continue with that fancy. However, I thought I would make an attempt at painting. I have dabbled a bit up to this point. I plan to attempt my hand at different forms of this.
Not too long ago a thought entered my mind. I thought I might try to be quirky in my early retirement. In my role I have had to maintain a semblance of protocol. I didn’t just represent myself, but an organization. There were expectations.
Please don’t misunderstand. My persona was not a facade. I have done a fairly good job of being me. What you saw is what you got. I took a bit of pride of not allowing my position to overtake my personality. Instead I attempted to infuse my personality into my position and “title.”
I was having dinner with my wife (Joni), my daughter, and her two kids (two of our grandkids). I declared to them: I have decided that when I retire I will be quirky.
My granddaughter, Chloe, asked, “What is quirky?”
I explained. “It is someone who does odd things. Sees things a bit differently. Someone a bit wacky and off the wall.”
She listened. She processed. Then she said, “Pappy. You are already quirky.” To which no one else at the table disagreed.
Evidently I am getting a head start on one of my post DS goals. Not that there is anything wrong with that.