Right now, bloggy friends, explain this to me.
Last year, I was a reasonably competent person. My life mainly called upon me to prepare lessons, teach, mark, cook, make the garden look pretty and do various services for my extended family. I feel I was fairly good at all of those things.
Then I retired. Now I'm trying to learn how to play the piano and am finding it really difficult. I have joined a more advanced choir, for which I had to audition (argh) and whose members are better at sightreading than I am (never mind the singing). I've taken up knitting after 30 years and when I make mistakes (which I do) am currently having to get Daughter 1 to sort them for me. And then there's the Zumba, which I never thought I'd be good at; and was correct.
Why am I doing this to myself? My life has become one long round of frustration.
Note to self: find a hobby I can actually do.
Still, at least I can, on the whole, spell, unlike the person responsible for a memorial announcement in our national newspaper today: "Jim, so deeply loved, so sourly missed". Oh dear.
You were used to doing all those things. These other hobbies are new. Keep trying or give them up... (Are you a quitter? ) Sometimes there is wisdom in knowing when you are not good at something.
ReplyDeleteAre you getting pleasure from it would be my question ?
Hugs from Ali.
Maybe Jim is sourly missed? Maybe we should concentrate on that rather than the crochet, which I do more slowly than everyone else, or the baking, which I do brilliantly until I see/taste anyone else's, or the spelling, which I used to be able to do until I stopped teaching full-time! Maybe we should just focus on not being sourly missed. You won't be sourly missed. Unless you stop blogging- don't give up the blogging!
ReplyDeleteThere is nothing actually wrong with your knitting!
ReplyDeleteThank you, dear daughter. There's nothing wrong till I make a mistake and then there is!
ReplyDeleteOh dear! I hope to never be "sourly missed!" Anna and I have already pointed the way for you.....Besides, "they" say that learning new tricks and challenging our brains is the road to eternal youth. Hmmmm. The jury is still out on that.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Ali Honey. I've been 'retired' for years, and there are loads of things I cannot do - exactly the same things, funnily enough, as I could not do before!
ReplyDeleteThere's nothing wrong with trying something, finding out it's not for you, and moving on. Unless you move on, how will you find something that you really do love AND are good at?
Years ago I went on a short workshop, picked some tools I had never handled before and just knew! It was like something fresh rushing through my veins.
Find that feeling!
maybe you have forgotten how long it took to become so proficient in your previous endeavours of teaching, marking, cooking, gardening...
ReplyDeleteapart from the gardening (on your list) all the other things you pretty much HAD to master. these other new things you can pick up or drop at will and keep going until you find the right fit.
Sounds like you should go back to work. Just kidding!!!
ReplyDeletei am all for trying a New Thing ... but if said New Thing brings nothing but frustration and angst (and no Joy) i am totally okay with being a quitter ...... maybe Jim was a Sour Puss.
ReplyDeleteYou're still suffering from Teacher's Disease . Remember retirement means no more exams and if you're not enjoying something , just don't . Anyway , the world already has enough Zumba-ers , believe me . Line-dancing , on the other hand ...
ReplyDelete( And Jim? Perhaps Jim's girl friends did dearly love him .... perhaps Jim's wife is the one who sourly "misses" him ? )
Haha -- I hopped on to say that Molly and I have just one word for you ... and I see she beat me to it!
ReplyDeleteThe big Q aside, I'm pretty sure you're too hard on yourself. I'm betting you're handling those piano and knitting challenges very well!