The End of My Last Spring Break (At Least, For Now)...

I have not written much lately. No reasons why, just not really in the mood to sit and write about music, therapy, or me in the past week or so. What I have been doing instead is reading books - all sorts of mindless books that just keep my brain occupied but do not really add too much to my knowledge. I will go to the library today because I am at the end of my most recent book. It is a good time to introduce new reading materials into my environment.

Lately, I have been watching lots of book journaling content creators. I am not interested in making my own book journal (too much like the book reports that I hated all through school), but I enjoy watching people decorate theirs. I am also making some book journals, but I will not be using them. I find the book journal videos to be simultaneously pretty and ridiculous, but I am drawn to them over and over again.

I wonder if I would be more inclined to read music therapy journal articles or texts if I was more into book journaling - making things pretty while working through my thoughts. Probably not, but who knows?? It's something to think about as I am trying to get back into the habit of reading more of the professional materials that I have collected over the years. Perhaps I would be more likely to read that stuff if I am decorating things up and making it all look pretty. Goodness knows, I have plenty to read in my professional library.

July. I will read more in July.

I spoke to my financial advisor (I highly recommend that everyone get one of these people in their collection of folks) and figured out what I will be doing with myself once I officially retire (at least the money that I will have available versus the money that I will still need). Next step is to talk to an insurance broker to find my next health insurance plan to see how much I will need to earn monthly to cover my health needs. We will be meeting again after I have finished my school contract to move things from some accounts to others. Lots to do to get ready to leave this job.

My successor has been hired. That is a relief for me because it is finished. I can focus on moving things out of my clinical area and back here to organize, sort, pass on, and throw out. I bought some new shelves to put into my long library closet for my professional texts and journals as well as some visual aids and other materials that are coming home during this process. Those shelves are sitting on my front porch right now. I have not done anything in the library all week, so I need to do some work in there in the next three days.

Yesterday was my only day without an appointment of some sort, and I spent it reading and papercrafting. Today's appointment is tax preparation and not until evening, so I guess I will be a bit on edge all day. That is usually what happens when I have appointments - my time anxiety gets going. The papercrafts that I put together will be going out into the world at the end of this month - I am in a couple of papercrafting groups who are part of a swap of materials. I (almost) finished my three things to send somewhere else. I like this type of thing because I can make something and then get it out into the world for someone else to use. This swap had a spring theme for those of us in the Northern Hemisphere. I made an artist trading card, a tag, and a booklet - all things I have done and released before. Now, I just need to get the name and address of the person that I am going to swap with so I can send things out into the universe.

At this point, I am looking forward to being retired for a bit of time. I have three months and a week before I am finished with my current job and will have at least two months of time off from working until I get back into some sort of job. There are some restrictions to what I can do once I start drawing my pension, so I will figure those out as well.

It's time to start my day - shower, trip to the library, cooking something, and then taxes. Let's hope that my tax liability is not very big this evening - I don't want to send all the rest of my money to the government. They have taken enough.

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