I am close to retirement from 38 years of teaching art. I found my work very satisfiying and challenging but more and more I want to wake up in the morning and decide how I will spend the day. All my life I have put aside things I wanted to do, to make, to experience because the demands of everyday life took priority. The longer life gets, the shorter it seems. I use to laugh at the bumper sticker that said "the man who dies with the most toys wins." But recently I have asked myself, what do I need to do to "win". I have decided I need to make things: photographs, drawings, clothing, jewelry, toys, memories. The woman who dies with the most stuff she made herself wins.