Time to Restart

Sometimes, despite best intentions, things don't always go according to plan. I had planned to develop an online journal of sorts with this blog as I embarked on my "retirement" in September 2009. Strange as it seems, though, the more time I thought I would have to accomplish things, turned into "busier than I had ever been."

In fact, the past two years have been extremely busy and quite unpredictable. There are many stories that could have been written but for lack of time... maybe some day they will have words from a distant perspective.

One thing that hasn't changed is that we still call Maui home.

Pops and Sunshine

Spending most of the day in front of the computer usually didn't leave me a lot of time for pleasure reading whether it was fiction or non-fiction. Maybe when I went on vacation I might find myself taking a book along, but that didn't necessarily mean I would read it since there were usually so many other things to do.

However, with my recent retirement, reading for pleasure jumped near the top of my "to do" list. Instead of waking up at 4:30am and jumping onto the computer for work, I grabbed a book and cup of tea or coffee and started to read. My first book to read was an easy choice. For a couple months I had been taking the book with me when I traveled without success in opening it. My interest in this particular book came about because of my husband's "second career" as a volunteer caddie for a young LPGA player, Angela Jerman, and because of twitter and the contacts that we beginning to make through that medium.

"Pops and Sunshine" is written by Dave Andrews (@DaveAndrews723) and tells the story of a young golfer trying to get her LPGA card and her chance meeting with an older amateur golfer who accepts her request to be her caddie. My husband, Stuart, read the book shortly after he wrote his own blog titled "Carrying the Bag" (http://carryingthebag.blogspot.com/). He told me about a few similarities between the book and his own experience as a caddie for Angela. If you read both the book and the blog, you will discover them so I won't mention them now.

I found the book to be a very enjoyable read and highly recommend it, even though I found myself in tears at times. It is a very heartwarming story of a young golfer in her quest to live her dream with a sprinkling of golf history, trivia and facts throughout. While the story provides insight into what life is like for young golfers trying to make it in the LPGA, it also includes a perspective on overcoming life tragedies balanced with the experience of first love.

Check out the website http://PopsAndSunshine.com to read more reviews and to find information for purchasing your own copy.

Enjoy!

Starting a NEW Chapter

It's been 2 weeks now that I've been "retired" and I must admit that much of the time has been somewhat like "vacation" to play some golf, spend time with friends and, most importantly, with family. I've also tended to a few "chores" - but that is a continuously expanding list.

With my recent "early retirement", I feel the need for reflection and to update my priorities for how I spend my time. Since working full-time as a resident of Maui wasn't the same as coming to Maui for vacation, we developed a routine that fit our lifestyle. Because full-time employment took a significant percentage of my waking hours, our focus for non-work hours generally included playing golf, enjoying time with family and friends, and getting involved with our new community.

There are so many items on my "mental list" of things to do, but I never seemed to find the time to do them - or I'd choose to do other things instead. There are also quite a few things that I wanted to be able to give more time than I could due to all the competing priorities. Now that I have all this "extra time", it would be easy to feel overwhelmed on where to start and what to do and end up accomplishing nothing. Likewise, it is also possible that I could find myself endlessly busy but with a life that is frivolous and without purpose. To avoid these outcomes - which I consider undesirable - I need to take time to reflect on my priorities in the context of a personal vision. Actually, it is likely to be a shared personal vision with my husband recognizing both our individual and shared perspectives. While I am not yet ready to declare my personal vision, I realize that having one will be helpful in keeping me grounded and fulfilled.

I have no intention, however, of making my retirement an endless vacation as much as that may sound like a good thing. There are too many things that are important or of interest to me that deserve time and attention which don't qualify as "vacation" activities, but then, they probably don't qualify as "work" either... so having a "personal vision" will become VERY important very soon to help provide discipline and structure.

The main reason for documenting and sharing this concept is to hold myself accountable for completing a personal vision. I intend to give myself time to explore what that means to me, but expect another writing to share my personal vision in the near future. In the meantime, I invite you to share with me your personal visions... or to share your thoughts and ideas for what might be included in a personal vision.

Where to vacation when you live in Maui?

When you live in paradise, where do you go for vacation?

We get asked that a lot since we’ve moved to Maui. At any one time, on average, about two-thirds of the people on Maui are visitors traveling on vacation. Maui is one of the most popular vacation destinations, so if you are already here it seems like a natural question.

Just like any other location, there are ample “local” choices for the weekend getaway, whether it is somewhere else on Maui or to visit one of the neighbor islands. Hawaii is also a gateway to Southeast Asia or the South Pacific – although our only trip that direction was to Australia several years ago and it was a fantastic vacation.

Usually, however, our vacations take us back to the “mainland” where we often plan our trip based on one or more combination of the following:
• Visit with family to celebrate a special occasion or holiday
• Golf outing with friends
• Booking usage of our Marriott vacation club weeks

Really, the point is that even though we live in paradise, there is still a big world out there to explore. We don’t necessarily need to travel to find someplace better to visit since we really do love living here in Maui. Just as there are magnificent views here in Maui, there are quite dramatic views across the globe that deserve notice and will create wonderful memories. That is really just the richness of living in world with airplanes and other forms of travel that can make it possible to explore other cultures and experience the natural treasures of the world.

Leaving Maui these days no longer brings the sadness that usually accompanied the end of a vacation visit here because we know that we live here and that we will soon return home to Maui.

Morning sunrise

I have always been a morning person. Waking up before the sun is up and watching the sun rise almost always brings a smile and feeling of awe. Knowing that the orange glow in the sky will be followed by the early light of day makes me feel so happy that I'm starting a new day living on Maui.