Little surprises!

I was weeding in one of my little rose bed yesterday and the weeds turned out to be wild strawberries! I picked a few to take a photo of but I don't think I'll eat them. They are pretty but very very seedy! Well, I'll admit I tried one...and altho it tasted like a strawberry, it was milder and loaded with seeds. Here's the photo I took of the little bowlful of wild berries. I threw them out for the birds. I hope they find them and the ones that are still growing. I left them in the rose bed. Mulch can wait!



Other volunteers this year are some cute little Johnny Jump-ups that were growing in our patio between the bricks just below my potting bench. I had a pot of them last year sitting on the potting bench and these are apparently from seeds from that pot. I love them, they're such happy little flowers! Here are the three I dug up in some pretty little pots I had that just happened to be empty.



Retirement!!

I've made my decision. I'm going to retire when this school year is over. I have 9 days left before R-day!! Which also happens to be the last day of school. I'm happy with my final decision...I've been agonizing over it for the past 6 months and it's a relief to finally decide. I'm not making it official to my boss until I make a few other decisions about my future. I will inform her this summer once those are all figured out. I have until July 1st. Piece o' cake!

I have sought out advice from many people who are retired and not one of them tried to talk me out of it. In fact, they all encouraged me to do it. I guess retirement is a good thing. Most of them say that life is too short to spend it all working and being stressed. I do love my job, but the stress factor is pretty sharp and it's getting to me a little more than I had realized. Once I started thinking about it, it came to light more. While weighing the pros and cons of working I faced the fact that driving a school bus, and all the factors involved (precious cargo, teen drivers texting as they drive, speeders who forget to look at the traffic lights as they careen down the street, etc. etc. etc... ad nauseum) is very trying and can be scary as hell! It takes a toll.

I got a book on my Kindle called "How To Love Your Retirement". I will start it this weekend. Not that I need to know how to "love" it...but it's a good guide to managing your time, etc. I always buy books on everything I do. I'm a book fiend! Especially when it comes to reference and how-to books! You should see my "Dummies" - "Idiot's Guide To..." - "K.I.S.S." collection!! Whew! If you need help or guidance on ANY subject, they are great!

So for now I will retire...from writing for today. But I'll be back. Blogging is one of my goals, once again. Hope I stick with it!