Two events occurred today that made me realize that being retired has changed me. Like so many people, when I was younger I couldn’t seem to say no to doing anything. Even at work, I was always volunteering to be on this committee or that. It’s like you are on dual treadmills – one for family and one for work – and don’t even notice.  Remember that old expression that to get anything done, ask a busy person. Well, that was me. Whether it was my kids who were involved in things, my husband or myself, we were all on-the-go all the time.

Well, it seems that most, if not all of us in the western world, are on treadmills like that. Rachel Sa wrote an excellent column on the topic in today’s Sunday Sun. She calls it “Learning to relax in our hectic world“  and talks about the importance of “down time.” Ask yourself, what exactly is down time? 

Is down time the time you spend doing other than what you usually do during the week? Is down time when you have fun — which means different things to different people? Going out for dinner? Stopping at the pub? Popping in on friends? Or, for anyone reading this, do you consider surfing the web down time? Or, for those of us who also have blogs, is writing a blog down time?

Or, considering how much research, reading and writing is required to keep our blogs current, is blogging more a “labour” of love? Or, is it both?  For example, if we enjoy doing something and consider it a “relaxing” activity, even if it time consuming and hard work, is that down time as well?
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While sitting in the doctor’s office waiting for my appointment last week, I came across an interesting piece on how to finance a post-secondary education. Although the article is written by Stuart Foxman for Readers Digest, he borrows from the work of Tim Cestnick, author of ”Winning the Education Savings Game.“ However, what caught my attention, initially, was an introduction in bold type that states:

“Student debt in Canada amounts to $12.5 billion–and grows by $17 a second. On average, college students accumulate a debt of $13,000 by graduation; students in bachelor programs graduate with a debt of $20,000. Financing your college or univeristy education can be a daunting task–but it can be done. Here’s how.”

The article is short and to the point and it gives concrete suggestions on how to beg, borrow and sweat to finance a post-secondary education. Foxman also provides Internet links. As such, I would highly recommend parents and students read it and give it some thought because every seed planted and idea brought to fruition can bring a dream to reality.