The other day I was talking to a friend who, being the same age as me, has been considering what life will be like when she retires. She mentioned she would prefer to live in a community where activities are planned daily so she wouldn’t get bored.
I don’t understand the concept of boredom, but I’m beginning to think it’s related to the creative gene (or lack thereof).
I pretty much always feel pumped up, and lately, more than usual, I’m tired at around midnight, but as soon as my head hits the pillow my brain is going in a million different directions…
and sleep eludes me.
Right now, I’m thinking about the new Amish glider I want to share with you…or maybe I should show you the pretty bolster pillow I just sewed…or what about my kick-ass guacamole recipe…
or maybe my fried chicken recipe…
or maybe I should be spending my time looking at the new ebooks I just purchased (over 50!!)…
or maybe I should take more pictures of the area I live in…
the gorgeous, majestic waterfalls…
the lush fields of green…
the perfect country homes…(me wanty)
or the rustic barns that dot the landscape at nearly every turn.
But nope, I can’t do that. I have a lifetime of photos I need want to go through and organize…
But who cares? I’d much rather take a picture of this!
See what I mean?
Posting once a week barely gives me enough time to share everything with you, but posting too much is a slippery slope for me. I applaud those of you who post every day or even 3-5 times a week, but for me, it would interfere with my ability to sew that pillow…make that recipe…or take the time to photograph the countryside. The creative equivalent of a Catch 22.
Amidst all of the above, there’s the normal, everyday stuff. (You know, the stuff I used to do before I was blogging and looked at nearly everything as a potential blog post or photo op.) Shopping for groceries, going to the gym, laundry, cooking, cleaning, seeing friends/family, reading, watching tv, health and beauty appts…
Having a creative brain can be a blessing or a curse. We look at everything with different eyes. A bathroom in need of organizing? I’m on it. A recipe perfect for our next dinner party? I’m on it. A living room in need of a new rug? I’m on it. So we take the time to organize them…create them….or decorate them. Time our less creative friends would spend working…
or being bored.
So tell me…is it just me?
In other news…
I interrupted my regularly scheduled blog posts on Saturday to bring you this one. I’ll be back soon to share something other than my rants. ;).
Sharing At
Metamorphosis Monday
Deb @ Frugal Little Bungalow says
The lady who worries about being bored probably doesn’t have many hobbies or interests or doesn’t read much or…something! 🙂
cynthia says
In a new house, there is always so much to do. I just wish I could get over my couple of blockage points…the end table in the living room that needs to be purged/cleaned out is staring back at me at this moment!
This year is kind of hard work, but next year will be more fun busy work.
And I love that I get distracted looking at a beautiful flower, or watching the deer, or turkey or hummingbirds…those moments are important. They remind us of the beauty of life, and leaving the busy-ness behind.
Love all your photos!
Doreen says
You are so right Cynthia. The first year in a new home, or ‘new to you’, brings with it a to-do list a mile long, but I know you’re happy to be back in NY and nearer to friends and family. Your property is lovely, so I’m not surprised you have some ‘four-legged’ visitors. 😉
carrie@northwoods scrapbook says
It’s not just you Doreen! I know exactly what you mean….and that’s why I finally started a blog last year. I needed somewhere to get that creative outlet…well “out”. 😉 Although, I do try and be good about budgeting my time with it, as I agree about the slope being easy to tip and snowball into something that becomes too all consuming. I have my email/blog time each day and try to primarily keep it at that – and almost always keep weekends free.
I love your blog and just happy you share when and what you can creative Lady after my own heart.
Btw beautiful photos! That guac looks amazeballs! And the scrapbooker/photo lover in me wants to come help you attack that closet!!! What fun it would be – don’t put it off too long. Take your fewer blog days and ATTACK! Lol
Keep up the great work from one creative kindred spirit to another. xoxo
Amy @ Ms. Toody Goo Shoes says
OMG, Doreen, I could have written this post word for word! It’s EXACTLY how I feel!
Al says
I’m totally with you about having way too many things I want to do and no time to do it. I think it has been over a month since I posted – eek. In my defence I’m a teacher so June is crazy and I spent the last two weeks in another city marking provincial exams. With that said, when I arrived home this afternoon I started making my crazy summer to do list.
Jemma says
Oh Doreen!!
Girlfriend, you have hit the nail on the head! I am in your boat, the boat that has it’s engines revved up 24/7 just waiting to the leave the dock for the photo shoot, the recipe, the project, the gym! Living Life to the fullest and embracing the excitement, energy, the wondering what one will find around the next turn. No retirement home for me-they’ll have to catch me first!
Love your photos and energy-whoo-hoo!
xoxo
Jemma
Doreen says
Lol! I can catch you, but only because I’m in tip top shape! 😉
So here’s the way I see it…you, me and Jane should live like The Golden Girls. Being from the South, you can be Blanche, and since it’s scary how easily I can be a ditz I will be Rose. Jane can be Dorothy and that leaves one spot open for…who? Dewena as the matriarch?
Yeah, that’s the ticket…
xxx
Cecilia says
Bored? Who has time to be bored? A million different things indeed. You nailed it!
Love your photos. 🙂 I want some of that guacamole – will you make me some when I come visit? 😉
Cecilia
Brenda Kula-Pruitt says
Lately I’ve found that I can’t even find the time to keep my small one bedroom apartment clean of dust. (First time in my life this has happened to me. I’ve always been a neat freak.) Being online just consumes me in one way or another. But then I’m not married, so don’t have exchanges with anyone else at home. I rarely go out. And the more I do online, the more I yearn to do and accomplish.
Brenda
Jane says
I think so many of us think like you. Anyone can claim to be bored if they see the world around them as lifeless and dull. I find inspiration everywhere. I’m curious and I want to try everything! Blogging gives me an outlet to share my little adventures and spurs me on to tackle more. It’s amazing when you think you’ve had a slow few days and then when you start to sum it up for your blog, or highlight a few interesting things that happened—well, for me, I have to start editing. I have to admit though, I run out of gas, I think it’s more of ‘mood’ thing. When I’ve had more on my plate than usual and I just need to step back and get lost in a book or a movie or a nap. Balance.
No retirement home for me. The thought makes me panic!!
Great post, Doreen and not a rant at all!
Jane x
tammy j says
LOLOL!!!!
i smiled and laughed all through this.
a tour de force on boredom! well done!
HOW on earth can anyone be bored today???? there is just no excuse!
the world is at our fingertips as never before!!! books… the internet… and PBS!
no technology? well…
libraries are still free! whole worlds within them to explore. and there’s always nature… it’s free for anyone to enjoy.
so if money is a deterrent… there are still many ways to not be bored!
but i guess it must still come from within.
it must be as you say… a creative gene is missing. they just can’t seem to create a life for themselves somehow.
sad to me. sad in the extreme. a lonely world for them to always be at someone’s else’s mercy for their entertainment and fulfillment. i dare say they can’t stand to be alone either. and solitude is such a gift. though people fight it.
great post dearest bean! as always. never a disappointment here!!!! ♥
xo
Doreen says
To put it bluntly my friend, boring people are bored. lol
xxx
Cindy says
This is where I fall short. My brain goes and goes but the darn body slams on the breaks. Now don’t feel sorry for me, I’m not a fan. I have intentions of giving my blog more attention but the life stuff is my priority. Pups,w working out, cleaning and cooking. I just can’t not do these things. This is why my blog goes nowhere. Truth, at times I think, no one really follows, so what’s the point. Have a super weekend
Cindy
Doreen says
Well, I follow, and I’m not ‘no one’! I think I speak for many when I say we love hearing about your new home and of course, let’s not forget the pups ;). Keep on keepin’ on Cynthia. (((Hugs)))
kim says
I’m not sure I can ever remember being bored, unless it was forced on me, like company that might go on and on!
I’m glad to hear I’m not the only one who lays in bed at night with the next days plans whirling through their head. If only we didn’t have to sleep! I know what your saying about blogging being a slippery slope too. You can’t get much done if you’re sitting in front of a computer. My friend who blogs 3x’x a week says she does all of her post on the same day and then schedules them ahead. I need to try that!
Pinky at Designs by Pinky says
BORED??? Nope, that doesn’t happen to me either. My kids think I am crazy cause I am always doing SOMETHING even though we are retired. We did move to a 55 plus community because we were very isolated in our old house and we also had no grandchildren. I LOVE living here and do ALOT of stuff and now we also have a beautiful granddaughter. SO, no boredom here! You are not alone. I try to blog 3 times a week but am finding it harder. Too many other things to do:):)
Doreen says
I blogged three times a week for well over a year Pinky. Actually, one of the ‘posts’ was a link party, but over a year ago I decided to try posting once a week ‘temporarily’ and I liked it so much better I never looked back. Posting every day isn’t for everyone for sure.
I didn’t know you lived in a retirement community. I can definitely see the advantages to that as far as socialization and I’m glad you’re loving it.
Thanks for stopping by!
xxx
Patty says
I retired two years ago and it was the best thing I ever did. My husband also retired about 1-1/2 years ago. We are having so much fun. Our house and yard has never looked so good. I finally have my own craft room and I have made pillows, curtains, drapes, etc. etc. etc. I am learning how to quilt now. I discovered that I really do like to cook and have been cooking up a storm. I read to two different classes each week in grammar school, I volunteer for an animal group and I also volunteer for a mini Special Olympics. There aren’t enough hours in the week to finish all the things we want to finish but we are having a ball!
Doreen says
Wow Patty! Sounds like you have tons of interests that keep you active and productive. Kudos to you for making the most of your retirement years. It really can be a great time of life, as I know you would agree.
Thank you for stopping by and commenting!
Julie says
Oh Doreen, you are always creating such nice recipes or doing yiur own landscaping! I’m with you, who has time to be bored! There is always something to keep you busy’ do create.
Have a nice Sunday and week.
Julie xo
Cathy, 1929 Charmer Cottage says
I feel the same way you do! I have been retired for 4 years, and I never have enough time to do all that I want to do. So many things that give me joy especially in summer! I blog on average 4 times a week and often feel as if I’m not “in” life but blogging about it. So it’s a fine line to follow. Especially after 2 intense months working on the garden and re-staining the outside of our home…I need to just enjoy the summer life!
Amy @ StowandTellU says
As I still work full time and blog, being bored is unheard of, but being on the brink of losing it because I’ve had too much to do and so little time has come up a few times. I dream of days to come when I’m no longer working full time aka retired, but from what I’m reading, you all are just as busy. Can we ever win?? I can see that New England is just as beautiful in Summer as it is in Fall 😉
Doreen says
As far as being busy, I think the only difference between working full time and retirement is with the later you spend your time what you WANT to do, rather than what you HAVE to do.
It’s pretty in New England all year Amy, but nothing quite beats autumn! 😉
Pat Cable says
I’m with you. How can anyone be bored. There’s way to much to do, to read, to paint, to sew, to organize, to rearrange, yard work to do, recipes to try.,,, But I have a childhood friend that has NEVER had a book or magazine in her house. She doesn’t want to read, her house is plain, there’s nothing on her walls, she had no interest. How can that be. I’d rather have a creative mind…. even if I never seem to get everything finished. I’m working on one project, while 2 or 3 others are looming in the back of my mind. xoxo
Pattie @ Olla-Podrida says
I feel sorry for your friend. I don’t think I have ever been bored a day in my life. A professor for whom I used to work looked at me one day as I sped from one thing to the next and he said, “I think you could probably amuse yourself in a cave.” Yep. I sure could. My mind is always going, like yours, even at midnight and well after, as I plot and plan.
Poppy says
Okay, if I lived in your BEAUTIFUL neck of the woods, I would definitely be out there all day long, roaming that gorgeous, hilly landscape, camera in hand, jaw dropped to the green and grassy fields below me, snapping away, smiling, breathing, lazily lingering in that lalaland of luxurious splendour! I would not be in a gym, a kitchen, or a beauty parlour, as my exercise would come from riding my bike, my meals would magically appear from a local farmer’s market, and my face would beam with youthful radiance, having been replenished from seconds only summer showers, and fresh, fragrant air!
Now, get out there, House Honey, and don’t come back for a bit – unless it’s to show us more spectacular specs of your special Shangri la locale! ‘Kay?!
Pretending I’m there,
xoxoxo
Poppy
Doreen says
Well Ms. Poppy, coming from the one person whom I consider to have shared the most beautiful pictures of heaven on earth, that’s quite a compliment! Great to hear from you my friend :). xxx
Kelly says
I wouldn’t say that I get bored on a regular basis, but sometimes I feel like I’m doing something that is boring. That’s when I need a change of scenery or plans. Certain days of the week will bring this on. At the beginning of the week, I am the busiest and not bored at all. Too much to do. I am not in the retirement age but do see where older retired people might enjoy hanging out together with lots of planned activities. It’s not as easy to get around on your own once you get older so living in close proximity of others in similar situations would be nice. When you’re older like that, you finally have time to nurture friendships like you’ve wanted to but didn’t have time to do when you were younger.
Doreen says
You’ve made some valid points Kelly. Sometimes I get bored too, but since it’s usually when I’m forced to do something I don’t want to do, or something ends up being not what I had hoped (like a bad movie for instance) it doesn’t last long.
Jane says
Oh My Yes, I know ladies who stay bored and my heart goes out to them. I try to suggest things to do or invite them to my various groups and they aren’t interested. My Quilting hobby has taken over my life! I do suffer or I should say I deal with Fibromyalgia and have since 1986. That alones limits my activity due to chronic fatigue but finding hobbies I love keeps me busy yet able to rest when I need to. The number of books alone would keep me busy until another 100yrs.
But then, I was always able to entertain myself as a child because my mother encouraged my independence. I played outside in a wonderful imaginary world. I’m afraid we have developed a society of folks who need others to entertain them rather than relying on their own creative devices. This talent came in handy as a Coaches wife with all the hours my husband had to be away from home. I knew what I signed up for when I began to date and eventually married a football player/Coach. Ironically, my daughter must have taken note because she has a husband who has long hours away from home yet she is able to entertain herself and the 2 boys. She said she watched me and followed my example.
So let’s cheer for those of us who enjoy our time alone and with others and for the contentment that comes with being able to never be bored!
Blessings
Gmama Jane
Magali@TheLittleWhiteHouse says
Just like you, I don’t understand how anyone can feel bored… The days always seem too short to allow me to do what I want. In fact, every Christmas, I ask Santa for 36 hour-days, but being a guy, he doesn’t understand…
Vickie says
Yes! I feel exactly the same about boredom and too many things I want to spend my time on. Add to that working 3-5 days a week and it doesn’t leave a whole lot of time for blogging! I loved your previous post with all the red white & blue images-my fave!
rue says
I can’t say that I’m ever really bored, but I do think that some of my everyday activities would be boring to read about. I mean… how much can you say about Laundry day? lol And yet, I have four hundred projects to do, that I could blog about, and instead I’m sitting on the computer today catching up with my friends 😉
xo,
rue
Shirley@Housepitality Designs says
You could never be bored!!!….Your life is filled with loved ones and so much creativity just waiting to be unleashed….yes, spending time on the great things in life is worth its weight in gold!….I am retired and find that I am super busy with all that life has to offer!…
Red Rose Alley says
Oh, I do love your pictures, Doreen, and that waterfall is incredible! There is a country road by my house, and I took a couple of pics today also. Those yellow flowers are so pretty, and they look like lilies? I have the same flowers in my front yard. They were already planted when we moved in, and I was going to plant something else instead, but I’m starting to like them now. They are such a sturdy flower, and they seem to open up in the afternoon. I can see why you only want to post once a week. It’s hard to come up with something every three days, but I keep trying hehehe.
I wanted to tell you that Yes, that was YOU on my list of friends on my post. You are a blog friend who is dear to me as well.
~Sheri
Vashti Quiroz-Vega says
No, it definitely isn’t just you, Doreen. For as long as I can remember I’ve been the same way. The concept of boredom eludes me too! I can always think of something creative, practical or fun to do. I have a full-time job in the medical field, I write books, blog, bake . . . I love trying out new recipes (like your kick-ass guacamole), going for long walks with my dog, photography, and so much more. I usually don’t have enough time for all the things I need and want to do. I don’t have time to be bored. 😉
SharonFromMichigan says
As a recently retired person (YAY!), I am yet to be bored. I have so many small and large projects, recipes and church stuff to do my head spins. Since I’m lucky enough to still have my Mom living, I left my husband & grown son to fend for themselves and went to visit my Mom for a month. What a glorious month we had and what a wonderful visit! Now I’m trying to make a list and get busy on any painting projects I want to do before the Fall and Winter get here and painting outside (or in the garage) will be out of the question. My flower gardens are pretty much on auto pilot this time of year – enough rain for me not to have to interfere with them (the secret is perennials). Creativity keeps the mind sharp! I can’t wait to see your backyard after it’s completed!
Doreen says
Hi Sharon! I was thinking about you the other day…just yesterday as a matter of fact. I had a feeling you’ve been happily busy enjoying retirement. So good to hear from you, and don’t be a stranger!
xxx
Sue says
I got a kick out of this one with your mind going a mile a minute as soon as your head hits the pillow. I do that too. Sometimes I think, what would I be doing if I was not blogging.
Sue says
Forgot to say how incredibly beautiful the waterfall and landscape and flower photos are.
Mary-In the boondocks says
Doreen, it is not just you. Iget so purturped when I hear paople say they have nothing to do or they are bored. Life is full of endless possibilities, and now that I have started blogging I am even more inspired then ever before. I guess I’m in good company.
Doreen says
I know! I have a saying…’boring people get bored’.
Your comments were in spam and I just found them Mary, so thanks so much for stopping by and commenting on not one but three of my posts! I love making new blog friends, and for sure I’ll be visiting you again soon! xxx