Page 532 - Demo

Fools%u2019 Journey526also read more than we had in past. I%u2019m sure in many people%u2019s minds, we were retired. But we still didn%u2019t like using that word. It implied we were no longer working, growing, or learning. In truth, we were busy most of the time with routine chores around our house and wooded property, as well as pursuing artistic or expressive projects. Most of our creative endeavors were hands-on, and often involved our collections. For example, Lynn made jewelry, and repaired the old, often battered, dolls making up her travel-doll collection, most of which had been sold to tourists between the late 1940s and the 1970s. At the same time, I continued expanding my philately and postcard collections. However, because we had always had been so totally immersed in big projects in the past, we wondered if we should be doing more. One evening, Lynn mentioned that she didn%u2019t have much to do the next day. This was really unusual, and she felt guilty, as if she wasn%u2019t pulling her own weight. She seemed to saying that she should be busy all the time, as she always had been in past. I suggested we could read more. I pointed out that by choosing to read non-fiction, we learned something from every book we completed. Reading more would be like going to school and continuing our education without having to take the exams.Because Lynn is often negatively affected by ink, paper, mold, and all the other odors that books pick up over time, I had continued to read out loud from my comfortable lounge chair in our living room. When we were younger, before her sensitivities developed, she and I nearly always read the same books. Often, after one of us finished a particular title, the other would choose to read it next. So when I began reading aloud in our thirties, we continued to select books that appealed to us both. Reading together has become a gratifying pastime for us both, and we often discuss a current book between reading sessions.Of course, we knew our most important project was resolving our inner relationships with our families. In this regard, it was a hard-won victory for Lynn when she was able to let her sister go, and move beyond survivor%u2019s guilt. But on some inner level, she still could hear her mother saying she was, %u201cpathetic and had created a prison for herself.%u201d