Do What Makes YOU Happy

 

I love sharing parts of my life and what I do in retirement with all of you.  In no way do I expect you will think like me or do things like I do.  We are all different, which is the beautiful part of life.  If we were all the same I think it would make things very dull.  I heartily encourage you to do what makes you happy.

 

What makes me happy would probably bore the hell out of most people.  I love to economize and live a thrifty and resourceful lifestyle.  I love to cook my own food.  I love home canning projects.  I love having and maintaining a long term food storage.  I thrive in that with meal planning, meal prepping, researching recipes and looking for grocery deals.  In fact, the only shopping I truly enjoy and look forward to is going to the grocery store.  I also enjoy a good budget challenge.

 

I love to do things for myself as much as I possibly can.  I am weird enough to enjoy working on my own car, changing the oil and doing minor repairs.  I thoroughly enjoy home improvement projects and making repairs.  I think it is fun to grab a chainsaw and trim a tree.  I’m not very good at landscaping, but I do enjoy trying.

 

Not everyone enjoys camping or hiking, but I sure do.  I love wading in an icy cold river or creek and smelling like a campfire when I climb into my sleeping bag at night.  Fresh air and exercise is like tonic to me.  I crave sunshine, mountains and the smell of pine trees.

 

I love to sew and do a variety of craft projects.  Paper crafting and making my own greeting cards, day planners, journals and even bookmarks fills me with pure joy.  Creativity is my therapy and a huge part of what I do on a regular basis.  I love to make things that are pretty and useful.

 

Another thing that fills my tank is service work.  I have really enjoyed my part time job working with seniors, taking them on adventures, pouring them a cup of coffee or just listening when they need someone to talk to.  Donating to the food bank and providing food and other items to people in need is also a high priority for me.  I am grateful to be able to be of service to others.

 

I like to keep a clean, tidy, well organized and uncluttered home.  I am constantly cleaning and decluttering while I work to streamline my processes and make them more efficient.  With that comes peace and tranquility.  It may not be for everyone, some enjoy being surrounded by more stuff, but for me I find that less is much more calming.

 

It is important to do what makes each of us happy.  It is also important that we are all able to do these things unencumbered and without criticism.  Likewise, we need to allow others to do what makes them happy without passing judgment or being critical.  We are all different and that is completely okay.  Do what makes YOU happy.