make some plans for my future lifestyle

I’ve started the formal celebrant education program. It’s very enjoyable and I’m sure I’ll do fine. My classmates are very interesting. We’re learning now about ceremony and ritual in general.

I just got a call from the director of he celebrant program. I’m in! She says they could tell I was already one of them and just needed some education. Hooray!

I put in my application to the celebrant course. I’m waiting to hear back from them.

I keep thinking that when I do retire, getting an RV and learning how to drive it may be quite sensible for awhile at least. I met this nice couple here at the laundramat who spend part of the year living in a nearby tourist town in their RV at the expense of the city. In exchange they take care of all the flowers and plants that decorate the town during the summer. They got this gig through an organization called Workamper. You have to subscribe to get the real information about jobs and stuff, I checked. But the whole idea seems so interesting to me. I’m so looking forward to retiring! There are so many exciting things I can do.

I actually bought this book because the library doesn’t have it. It’s a series of quizzes and exercises to help you make a good plan for your next phase. I’ve not really formally completed the plan. I’ve named it “Ready, Set, Go” because it has three phases. I’m in “ready” now and will be for awhile. In this phase I want to acquire skills and some things that will be useful to me once I’m in “go”. It’s also getting some stuff out of the way. “Set” is a transition phase and then “go” is the final set into the new beginning. So doing the celbrant education is part of ready. So is taking othre short classes in things like watercolors or birdwatching..things I want to learn about. I want to travel around the west here and check out a bunch of places I haven’t really been to yet to see how they would work as retirement communities. Stuff like that.

Then during “set” I want to take off for awhile…as long as I think it’s a good idea….to just travel around and visit people and places..probably in a small RV or something so I could take my kitties with me. During this time I would make my final choices about where I would settle. And the finally “go” is the settling down someplace(s) and actually establishing my new life which will inclue a variety of activities like caring for animals, gardening, fiber arts, Zen practice…..other stuff like that.

My friends all say go for it. and a colleague asked me if I could marry her this summer. One friend says, yes, you can, just get one of those on-line minister certificates. But I said no, not this summer. I want to be somewhat qualified and to do it right! But it’s encouraging to me that people already think I’m qualified to do this and actually want me to help them.

I’ve been thinking hard and I’ve decided that I do want to take the course to become a celebrant. I think I will enroll for the fall section (assuming they take me in). I had my annual evaluation this week with my boss and told her that I wanted a year at work without new challenges (a cruise control year) so that I could do this course. She thought that was ok; it’s looking like my assignment will be the same anyway as last year. Then I told another colleague about this. I think I will keep telling people. That will make me HAVE to do this in the end. Now I’m thinking about the essay I need to write to get admission. I have to write well because that’s what celebrants do.

I’m not even looking at the amounts in my accounts right now. I trust that in 10 years, things will be a bit better.

Meanwhile I’ve been working doing gardening at the Botanic Gardens and having a great time. The horticulturalist seems to like working with me. We’re probably going to be doing a lot less in the near future, but come spring, I’ll be back at it.

I’m doing my regular gig at the botanic gardens and enjoying it very much. I can see myself doing this kind of volunteer work on into the future. I’ll bet the animal refuge has gardens too, at least for some decoration out front. The best part about this work is that I don’t own the garden. I can just do my stuff and then go home. I don’t have to worry at all about stuff I dislike such as lawn care.

I want to go down to the Kanab area in southern Utah to check it out. That’s the site of the famous Best Friends Animal Sancuary, and I’m thinking it could be a good place to spend the long hard winter too. I could be a volunteer at the sanctuary, but be within driving distance of Vegas for when you just gotta go to the big town.

I would love to study dancing in Argentina (tango) and Brazil (samba.) I know I can take lessons here in the US, but why not have an adventure in learning if I can. Just a dream, I think.

Meanwhile I signed up for an account with Elderhostel. I just might find some good stuff there.