I have observed that hiding our non-work related talents, accomplishments and interests “under a bushel” as we get older seems to be a ‘thing’ with some people ‘of a certain age’ here in North America.  Once we get past the ‘mom-will-stick-it-on-the-fridge’ stage of celebrating talent and accomplishment, some of us become very bad at tooting our own horns for anything we do outside of the jobs that dominate a third of our lives. So much of what we share about ourselves outside of the realm of family and friends is parenthetically qualified by how it relates to the job, to the working day and the pursuit of a career.  Even our hobbies become subverted.   In parts of Europe when someone asks ‘what do you do?’ the response is a catalogue of hobbies and interests, and rarely about their job.  See the article at http://www.walrus .ca.

https://thewalrus.ca/we-let-work-define-us-why-not-play/

So, ask the question; what do I do? When I’m not self-distracting with reading and Netflix  I write, I sketch, I have been known to paint and work with clay, and I am learning how to play the piano.

And before you ask: “No!”  You can’t read it, you can’t see any of it, and I’ll be darned if I’m going to play in public.

I suppose that’s a bit harsh.

Well, maybe it is time to find a new ‘fridge’ to stick some of my stuff on.

Years ago I started a blog to help family and friends keep track of my journey with cancer.  I made a half-hearted attempt to update that same blog when that sneaky aneurism in my brain went ‘pop!’ and knocked me off my stride.   Now, as I resist the gentle glide into a pseudo retirement, I am determined to reinvigorate the blog to share and celebrate hobbies, talents , interests and to make sure the children around me know that it is okay to share your creativity and passions long past the ‘stick it on the fridge’ stage.

In the coming weeks, leveraging the platform at WordPress.Com, I am going to re-work my blog into something more readable and manageable.  I am also going to create a secondary blog as a repository for my creative efforts; my writing, my sketches and my painting.  I hope to be able to use the two as a point of discussion and leverage with my grandkids to get them to embrace and share their creativity, their talents and their interests.