Well, I’m moving a bit slowly this morning and got around to writing my journal entry several hours later than usual. I guess I was just tired after a busy day yesterday. It is one of the adjustments to being older land being retired that I find difficult. It seems that I still have energy for a busy lifestyle and I enjoy being busy, but when I put in a long day, which once was a common part of my life, I find that I slow down the next day or so.

Yesterday was a fun day. I got up a bit earlier than usual and got ready for church. Susan and I usually drive to church together, but I had some extra commitments, so I took my own vehicle and she followed a bit later. I had both a vocal choir rehearsal and a bell choir rehearsal before worship. Our bell choir rang for two worship services: our church meets at 10 am and Garden Street United Methodist Church meets at 2:30 pm. Between the two services, I visited with other church members, picked up a bit of lunch from a to-go restaurant, ate my lunch in the church library and invested the rest of the time processing new books into the church library. The bell choir had a short warm-up before worship and then rang for that service. I left immediately after the service, came home, changed my clothes, and went to work int he kitchen. I cooked ribs and sweet potatoes on the grill for supper and Isaac’s family came to our house for a Mother’s Day celebration. After our guests left Susan and I went for a walk and as dusk fell, I went over to the farm.

I have been working with a swarm of bees at the neighbor’s place for more than a week. They had taken up temporary residence around a small tree and clumped so tightly to the base of the tree that I could not get to the queen with a bee brush without being inundated with defensive bees. Two attempts resulted in capturing large numbers of worker bees but failing to get the queen. I relocated the captured bees into an empty hive with food inside of it hoping it would attract the bees to move, but without success. The swarm moved on and I though perhaps it had left the neighbor’s place.

Since my hives are all active and thriving, I am not sure that the bees came from my colonies, but it is possible that one of them has divided and made a new queen. The swarming bees are domestic honey bees and I am the closest bee keeper to the neighbor’s property. I want to be a good neighbor and don’t want my bees to be a problem for the neighbors, so I have been working diligently to help them with the swarm, but I am a new bee keeper and this is my first attempt to deal with a loose swarm.

Last night, however, I found the bees relocated to a taller tree still on the neighbor’s place. The day had cooled quite a bit and it was starting to get dark and the bees were tightly clumped around a single small branch. I suited up and within a short time had succeeded in clipping off the branch and capturing the entire swarm with the queen in a box designed to transfer bees. It was as easy as could bee, unlike my previous attempts.

Happy with my success, I helped with a few chores at the farm before closing the driveway gate and returning home to a bit of wind down time. I got to bed a bit later than usual.

There was nothing about my day that was especially strenuous. I had just planned a few more activities in a single day than my usual retirement pace. I used to have days as full or more full regularly just a few years ago. But I am not used to not getting any breaks in my day. The simple fact that I kept in motion for 14 hours or so without taking time to sit in my chair and doze or at least relax.

When I was working, I was aware that there were some people in my life who would have only one thing in a day. I was often frustrated with a clergy group that I participated in with a majority of retired clergy. Those retired pastors seemed to want to sit and talk after the meeting, often keeping me from getting to other important work. It was simply the case that they had only one meeting that day and I had many. I tried to be patient, but I remember saying to myself, “I’m not going to be like them.”

Now I realize I am more like them than I expected. So I am particularly careful about how my more leisurely lifestyle affects others who are working. I had brief conversations with the pastors of both congregations yesterday, but was mindful to keep them short and remember that they are busy and have other people with whom they need to speak. Susan and I have a meeting with the pastor of another congregation on Tuesday to do some planning for a couple of Sundays coming up when we will lead worship in the congregation she serves while she takes a vacation. I want to be respectful of her time and efficient with the time she spends with us. That means not telling too many stories and focusing my attention on her work and the congregation she is serving.

I realize that saying, “I’m not going to be like them,” doesn’t mean that I am not like them. I have much more in common with the many retired pastors I have known over the years than I thought I would have. Retirement and age have slowed me down quite a bit. The years of working in the church has filled me with stories and some of those stories are not as relevant to the lives and work of working pastors as I might think. Enabling them to succeed in their ministries means being respectful of their time and trusting them to bring themselves to the work without needing my mentorship or comments. It is, however, easier said than done.

Like other phases of life, I’m “winging it” a lot more in retirement than I expected. I hope that I can keep learning as I go and will learn to be a helper and not a burden to younger pastors who are serving the church.