Gayle Tales

Anyone who stops learning is old,

whether at twenty or eighty.

  ~Henry Ford

My husband often comes home from work and asks me what I have accomplished that day.  I have to admit it is sometimes difficult to see when you enter the house.  Being a stay-at-home mom with 2 children in college and one remaining at home, I am sure people think I have tons of free time to accomplish so many household chores and yard work.  Well, then why is there dirty laundry overflowing the clothes hampers?  Why is dinner not made? Why isn't the house neat as a pin? Why?

 

When I exited the "working" world 15 years ago this month, I made a vow to myself that I would not let my brain go to mush.  I have always loved to be challenged.  I love to figure things out. My prior job as a computer programmer suited me well.  But would my mind be challenged staying at home changing diapers?  

I faced life as a stay-at-home mom with the same determination that I faced computer programming crash.  If something was broken, I could fix it.  If I didn't know how, I would learn.

I became a teacher.  I surprised even myself with the patience needed to raise 3 young children.  I was fascinated as I watched their minds and bodies grow, and knew that what I did everyday mattered more than any job outside the home.  I challenged my kids every day in fun, creative, and new ways.  Creativity, books, puzzles, imagination - we did it all.  And I learned so much from my kids - they changed me so much.

So now that the house is empty much of the time, I still feel the need to remain challenged.  Henry Ford's quote is so true.  I just can't stop learning.  What am I learning now?  

 I feel like there are not enough

  hours in the day to learn all that I want to know!

 

I want to continue to learn about my camera and photography.  This involves reading books, but also lots and lots of practice and doing.

 

III  

I want to learn HTML.  I need this in order to design web pages. No, I have no real plans to do this, but I would just like to know how!

 I love learning Photoshop!  There are so many things you can do with it.  It is so creative and I don't know if it's possible to ever learn it all.  But I spend lots of time taking online classes, taking notes like I am at school so I can remember it all at a later time.  I am a member of Lynda.com which has classes in just about anything you would ever want to know about computers and photography and photoshop!

 

 And at this time of my life, I strive for balance.  Life, learning, love.

We are all forever changing and becoming.

Isn't it wonderful?