Retirement.
As we move forward in our lives retirement is not always as easy as we had hoped this new stage of life would be. At the very least we can agree that things have a way of changing. What sounded so great when we were in our 50’s sometimes takes on a very different hue than we had planned for. So we make adjustments and somehow it all seems to work out for the better.
One of the things that has become a really great blessing is the way we have of making new friends, and best of all, they are friends that we have a common interest with. We may have a wide variety of backgrounds, and different ways of looking at the world around us, but this is all to our benefit as we come together and share all of our thoughts and experiences. Subjects that we never even thought of are brought forward in great detail. Life growing up in a Maine community many years ago becomes fascinating when you are hearing it firsthand from the one who lived it. European experiences bring a whole different culture to the forefront when it comes to you across the table in your group of writers.
And we are all writers. We all have the urge to write, to express ourselves, to share a part of us that may have been hidden before. We may have written all of our lives, but reading it out loud in front of other members is another kettle of fish, as my father used to say. Hearing the quiver in someone’s voice, knowing the fear that lurks beneath the surface as they reveal an inner part of themselves to us, we all are sympathetic to our creative friends. It takes real courage to bare your soul, to allow others to know the inner you. And we do it, week after week, and somehow it seems to get easier each time, as we realize we are safe among our creative friends. We can relax, knowing that we reside safely in this circle.
Our class means a great deal to me. What others say about my writing is important to my development as a writer. When I write it is like I am talking to them, my friends. As I am reading, I can hear the rhythm of my voice, and it is very comforting to me to be able to express my thoughts.
It is also a very good feeling to listen to others and know that we all have a very special place in each others lives. We are showing that creativity expands in our life no matter what the age, and we have an important function to fulfill.
The main thing that I have been taught in our class is that we are all survivors. We have all been thru the mill, done what had to be done, and we have survived. And we all still have a smile on our faces for our friends. I see the victorious human spirit in everyone in our class and it gives me great pride to say that I am a member of our Creative Writers class in Betmar Acres in Zephyrhills, Florida.
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