Some thoughts on Retirement

That last quarter…

Pilgrim on a Long, Long Journey

On 1/31/19 I will have been retired five years. I thank God I could afford to and that my favorite vocation came to the surface, writing. I guess somewhere deep down I realized that when I memorialized my mom at her memorial service about 12 years ago.

My late, articulate, attorney brother-in-law was at a loss for words. Boy, did that surprise me. Mom’s close friends and relatives who attended were deeply touched. That eulogy for this woman I loved with every ounce of my being became the first memoir in my first book, Look Backward Angel, available on Amazon.

The retirement allowed me with greater regularity and relaxation to spend time stretching, lifting,and power walking.

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Deep Memories

“Art is the act of triggering deep memories of what it means to be fully human.” David Whyte, English poet of Irish extraction.

Writing memoirs or fiction finds me digging into deep crevices. Triggered are the old memories that are quite accessible. I feel younger when I access them. Thank God for that huge gift.

Which of them have profoundly reminded me of what it means to be fully human? The memories I cherish. The enormous joy of our wedding. The arrival of our children and grandchildren. The turning points in my relationship with Kristine, blessed by God. The exact moment I left my office to begin retirement.

One last one that resounds in my crevices, seeing the broad smile on my adolescent son’s face when I was able to buy him a sparkling, new truck.