Although I didn’t officially retire until the end of the academic year in May, the quarantine which started the week after Spring Break in March was the last time I saw my students and most of my colleagues in person. I missed them and the chance to say farewell in person. In July I received an email that my retirement chair (I selected a rocking chair instead of a working straight chair) was ready for me to pick up. Once I managed to get it into the back of my car on the reclined seats, I drove it home and assembled the rocker legs (not that easy with a tight fit). I finally cleared out the last of 40+ years of academic books and papers from my office just before picking up my chair, and I’ll have a lot of work to go through bookcases to add the ones I want to keep.
Not surprisingly, the five textile workshops I had scheduled from May through October gradually were canceled. So much for celebrating retirement time!
I have always loved calendars of any size, and have far too many of them, mainly of cats and Estonian lace knitting. As days have gone by, I’ve scratched out or erased one workshop or guild meeting after another. Zoom “meetings” have helped but who isn’t tired of them? Some small groups are gradually resuming, but I’m having a hip replacement this fall and don’t want to risk exposure. It doesn’t even seem like an effective vaccine will be widely available until next spring. Here I am, looking at beautiful calendars without dates for joyous activities. When trying to imagine retirement time, this was not part of it.
Ah, back to textiles! This is part of a small PEACE panel. I hope you are finding helpful transitions from before to during now!
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