When my dad was about to retire, a nagging part of me was worried he would be bored or sedentary—not because of anything he’d done, but more rooted in the fears of a child who loves their parent and knows that this season of life can come with challenges. Those fears have been wholly misplaced.
My dad has always been a woodworker. The sound of a table saw and the smell of fresh cut sawdust of the homebuilt lumber mill he ran out of the creaky old barn of my childhood home are some of my earliest memories. He built the crib that my sister and I grew up in and our house has several pieces that he’s built over the years. And now that he’s retired, he has returned to that hobby with a vengeance. He’s made a little learning tower for my niece and has been out in the garage til late in the evening building tools for further projects.
Rather than worry about him, his own dedication to his craft reminds me that maybe I should be paying more attention to my own hobbies and ensuring they stay healthy!
Ian Hutchinson 