A Purposeful Life

When I was working, I spent my professional life dedicated to working with students. I loved my job. having a great sense of pride that I was a teacher. I always considered my job a honor and a privilege to work with young people, helping them to grow and move forward in life. As minuscule as my contribution was, I always felt it a privilege to teach.

Then I retired. I was tired physical and mentally. Six months after my retirement a during regular yearly exam my blood pressure was sky high. Panicking I went to the next MD who put me on more blood pressure medication. After the first of the year, I decided to join Weight Watchers, which helped me lose 25 pounds. I feel much better and I continue to work on weight loss.

I realized, too, that laong with seeking good health in retirement, I needed to lead a purposeful life.  Only in the last few weeks have I actually set the goal of leading a purposeful life, and when I note to my friends and family that I am seeking to do something purposeful each day, they look puzzled and ask me what I mean.

Retirement often for some who have lived their entire life working is a very daunting life change that some just cannot handle. Some choose to go back to work. Some just sit in front of the TV or computer. Some just fade away when they could have had a greater purpose, a fulfilling life beyond the job they were dedicated to.

Nor does the adjustment to that change occur over night. LatelyI have determined to do something purposeful every day whether it be a load of laundry or pulling weeds, or visiting with a friend or nurturing family.  The point is that I do something that moves me forward in life each day rather than just sitting and watching TV or even working on my hobbies--not that they don't serve a purpose; I need to get something accomplished and sometimes that is very hard to do when the job is no longer a driving force of life.

Thus today's mosaic reflects my purposeful project for yesterday. I had Robert Frost's poem "After Apple Picking" in mind as the Head Gardener and I picked the remaining apples--well, most of them. Each tim I drove up the garage I saw those unpicked apples going to waste, so after the HG graded the horse corral with the tractor, I enlisted his help in apple picking.

I bought a food dehydrater fro Bed Bath and Beyond on Thursday, so anxious to use it I used my handy dandy Kitchen Aid peeler/slicer/corer to prepare the apples. I can't say how many I processed, but as you can see the four trays yielded 3 small baggies of dried apples that are, by the way, packed with flavor. 

And so Frost states perfectly my feelings toward apples: 

For I have had too much 

Of apple-picking; I am overtired 
Of the great harvest I myself desired. 
There were ten thousand thousand fruit to touch, 
Cherish in hand, lift down, and not let fall

Once the dehydrator was humming away, I peeled and sliced more apples to can. I wanted to can apple pie filling, but ended up just canning blanched slices. It will be to season them later. I put them  pints, too. A lot of work for little yield. I followed directions from the website Pick Your Own.org, making this task very simple: blanch sliced apples for 5 minutes, pack in sterilized jars, use the blanching water to cover the apples in the jars, place sterilized lids on, then process for 30 minutes in canner--30 minutes at our high altitude. 

Living a purposeful life, however, is certainly not all work and not play. Last week company arrived from Texas. They always love the drive to Estes Park. So do we, and it generally takes company to get us up there. The town for the most part will shut down this winter because the main highway will be under construction to repair damage from the 2013 flood. Year round residences will have passes to travel the road twice a day during restricted hours. The businesses will board up for the winter.

                  

The day was warm, but cool with a  bit of breeze, making a stroll up and down main street pleasant and enjoyable.

                  

The bull elk are in rut; this handsome one has his harem of cows just outside of side. He always draws such attention, stops traffic. What grand creature.

We don't drive to the top of Trail Ridge, which will be closing soon. While the sun was shining in town, up the mountain the clouds moved in bring bits of snow and rain. Our Texas friends were excite to see a bit of snow. The fall colors were in full glory, too.

It was a purposeful day.

Now I must spend considerable time catching up what all of you have been doing the last two weeks, a most purposeful way to spend time. I though of Diane in Florida, Lavender Dreams,  wondering how she and her husband survived the Mathew. (Quick check of you blog shows you did).

Later in the day will be updating Ann's Dollhouse Dreams. Stop by this week.

Thank you stopping by. I've missed you.

Linking with Maggie for Mosaic Monday at Normandy Life.