Hobbies and side-hustles

I am looking forward to visiting with others who graduated from Victoria’s Oak Bay High School fifty years ago, the Class of 1975.  As interest spreads my guess is that around fifty of us will show up at a Victoria hotel in early June, hoping that we are recognizable and we will recognize others.

I will set aside any curiosity about how we all “turned out.” I will be very interested however in grads’ experience of family and relationships, of places lived and travelled, of education, career, and vocation. Lastly, but in a way most importantly, I am curious how people have invested their energy outside of compensatory work; in other words, how have we all used our spare time — as volunteers, as active or passive participants in sports, and what hobbies have we pursued.

My interest in hobbies arises from a recently published Analysis by Jenny Singer in the Washington Post, an enquiry about the place of hobbies in the lives of North Americans. “We are supposed to be living in the golden age of hobbies. Great thinkers of the 20^th century believed that innovations in technology would make work so efficient that leisure would eclipse labor. In 1930, economist John Maynard Keynes predicted 15-hour workweeks by 2030. This would leave people the opportunity to “cultivate into a fuller perfection, the art of life itself.”

Personally, I have enjoyed and pursued many hobbies over the years. Through my 20s and 30s music occupied several hours of each day, professionally and informally. Classical music evolved into jazz performance, and for a time, composition. Musical practice could fill 3-4 hours each day, 7 days a week.

I was an active photographer at the time of graduation. That hobby did not return in a significant way until 2005 when I dived headfirst into digital photography.

Since retirement four years ago, and a move to Summerland in the BC Okanagan, I have found writing most enjoyable. This has included my first academic publication, an additional advisory role with three other projects, and this blog which continues to grow in popularity.

Through all the above, my minimum requirement is that any endeavour must allow for creativity and the application of insight. Kathie and I are privileged to be financially secure, though a car loan does stress us a bit. As a retired Anglican priest in an area of the church where retired clergy actually keep the church operational, income from my little side-hustle called “pulpit supply” does come in handy. It seems I am not alone.

“To pay the bills, huge swaths of Americans take on “side hustles” during hours that earlier generations might have spent building model trains or singing in a choir.”

Many years ago I buried Elsie. The family and I travelled to her summer cabin which had an outbuilding on the property. In this much loved wooden structure each room exhibited one of Elsie’s interests. In one were all her guide leader uniforms, manuals, photographs, and camping gear. In another stood a sewing machine with all sorts of fabric strewn haphazardly on a counter. In a final room were rocks, lots of rocks, a tumbler and bottles of glaze. The house was itself a motherly mausoleum, a testimony to this woman’s passions and social commitments.

In other persons and pursuits: Jim collects Turkish stamps; Chistina and Doug garden in their own yard and in a local community garden; Betty-Ann and Doug have led theatre groups for years; Michael loves buying expensive camera lenses for use in the outdoors; our son and his partner love camping, and our daughter and partner live for climbing, cycling, and long distance running.

My ex-navy brother sailed for years following retirement; Margaret loves welking, alone or in groups; Nancy is often found in her kayak or canoe; Pat has visited over 90 countries worldwide; several Anglican bishops I know, including my own, devote an increasing amount of time painting and drawing. Some colleagues produce vlogs; other engage deeply with politics and satire; many of us read with intention and attention; there’s an astonishing amount of pickleball these days. Some of us watch baseball — Go Jays.

My wife learned how to sew and knit from her mother. Our daughter has inherited her mother’s passion for these, de rigeur. Just today, Kathie received plaudits for her white cable knit sweater knitted by daughter, Hannah. Learning this, the fellow knitter exclaimed “you are so very lucky.”  And she is.

And then, there’s dogs. ‘nuff said.

At age 67 I clearly see how important hobbies are to senior health. You can’t watch TV all day. Some succumb to betting or the stock market; others drive their partners nuts; some become Walmart greeters.

“Among older people, having hobbies is linked to lower rates of depression. A study during the pandemic found that people who started gardening, crafting or woodworking for just a half-hour a day reported greater life satisfaction; those who spent more time on screens were more likely to be depressed.”

When working with couples (of all ages) preparing for marriage, “leisure activities” was one of the ten relationship facets we studied. “A great hobby takes simple ingredients — a skein of yarn, a piece of lumber, a group of friendly strangers.”

“The word ‘hobby’ was once pejorative. It comes from hobby horse — a child’s toy that takes its rider nowhere. In the early 1800s, the word hobby indicated “some trifling, harmless, half-silly, half-useless propensity.” I define hobby as any activity, typically without any form of compensation apart from pleasure, which beings delight and blesses the hobbyist, and likewise the community. I encourage you, dear reader, to further your own interests, individually or in the company of others, and find something beautiful to do and share.

And yes, in the comments, please share your own hobbies. I am very curious. It’s kind of a hobby . . .