Period of readjustment

Getting back from a three week vacation - which I have never had previously - is one thing; adjusting after over 36 hours of travel is something completely different. I thought we had done pretty well with the 5-aeroplane journey by getting decent sleep and adjusting to the 13 hour time difference.  However, the first full day back at home and at my new work out in the studio felt a little foggy.

I had successfully parked all my cares and concerns while away in Asia.  I am very good at compartimentalizing. Now that we are back I have a lot of catching up to do, at the same time as establishing a completely new routine.  I had been going to a job every day for the last three decades. My job now is a few steps out my back door.  

As it was the first day back, I was gentle with myself. I had several naps, got a print in the mail, did my radio show and started (and almost completed) a new commission.  Long story short, it was a productive day, despite feeling foggy.

I have identified several areas of focus in my new semi-retired life as a full-time artist:

1. Include walking as part of our routine - it is so easy to drop this one.  Things get super busy or brutally cold and walking is the first thing to get dropped.  Heather and I stay better connected when we can walk and talk.  The exercise is very important, too.

2. Make time for our sons - Dylan and Ben are growing up too fast.  They each have their passions and their challenges.  I want to be more engaged with both their lives.  I need to learn how to do that better.

3. Get better with the business - a big part of the impetus of moving to doing art full-time is so that I can improve, both the practice of creating art and the intricacies of running the business.  I have a lot to learn and discover about both aspects of this late career shift.

4. Work super hard so we can travel - I am going to work my tail off with the art business so we can have the freedom to do trips like the one we just completed.  We want to build on our time in Thailand and Cambodia; it felt like the beginning of something, not a one-off adventure.  We both enjoyed the intentionality of going across the world to make a small difference. 

The years ahead will contain many unknowns.  I hope that we can continue to have the flexibility to respond, adjust, explore and discover it all, one day at a time.