When is the right time to dream? My answer is: after your retirement.   Retirement might mean the end of a regular income, or the lowering curtains of your talent show at workplace. Yet from another perspective, retirement allows one to be truly in charge of his/her time. It is when the pursuit of personal interests and growth start. To be stuck at the status quo or to move forward? It all depends on whether you have the courage and will to take action and start a new life. If you are lucky, like me, to have crossed path with TWGHs E Major Ensemble, your retired life would be even more fruitful. In the ensemble I meet peers who are at the same stage of life as I am; together we move forward and build a new life. The pursuit of dreams is no privilege of the young.   I once heard a famous saying: retirement is a kind of blessing in life. As true as the saying goes, not everyone gets to enjoy such blessing. My mother, for instance, unfortunately passed away at an early age. My father, on the other hand, lived a private, solitude life after he retired. Both did not have the chance to taste the blessed colorful, special retired life. I served in the government's disciplined service for more than half of my life, which putting on my uniform and living a routine life became habitual. As my retirement approached and my children grown into independent adults, I started asking myself in a serious manner: What do I desire most? I was determined to plan for a wonderful retired life and to embrace the blessings that are about to come.

There is a saying that goes "teach an old dog a new trick", which means it is too late to learn, that even one have the passion, he/she always lacks the ability. Once, I agreed with the statement. However, how should we define "old"? 60 years old? Or 70? Or 86-year-old like myself that is approaching my 90s, shall be called "old"? My age was once the reason why I gave up playing my beloved violin. Luckily, I encountered TWGHs E Major Ensemble last year, which relieved me from my stubbornness and encouraged me to pick up my long-forgotten violin. Since I have joined the ensemble, my third age is filled with music and joy.   Violin to me, brings back both sweet and bitter memories. Back in the 50s of last century when life was harsh and poor, I found spiritual support and joy from music. Playing in an amateur band with friends, talking about music and performing after work filled the days with happiness. Yet happiness didn't last. Band members quitted or migrated overseas, but the deaths of my music teacher and best friends hit me most tragically. Whenever I picked up the violin, sorrow overflows -- for there was no one in the quartet to play with anymore.