I’ve taken a lot of leaps into the darkness in my life.
In my 30s I left a bad marriage with only the clothes on my back and a rattletrap retired postal van. At least I had a decent job.
In my 40s my second husband and I decided it was time to move out of Seattle. We’d saved some money, we had a Volkswagen bus, and a child about to start high school. With that, and nothing more, we packed up and moved. We headed for Eugene, Oregon, where we had a handful of friends. One of them, a woman I had only met a few times, had rented us a duplex without us ever seeing it. Neither of us had jobs, and we moved in with only days to spare before our daughter’s first day of high school.
As I started my 50s we bought a house at the beach, intending for it to be a weekend place while we - inspired by "This Old House" and its descendants - made it over into our dream retirement home. Almost immediately I landed a job just two miles from that house. I left the job I'd held for nearly ten years, we quickly packed up and moved again, and we’ve been here ever since.
About that same time I sold my first novel, and launched a writing career.
Now I am embarking on what may be the biggest leap of all. Just a few months ago I retired from my job here, after more than 20 years, and became a full-time writer.
I had no idea then, and I still have no idea now, what lies ahead. Current events, especially the pandemic that is currently sweeping the globe, have destroyed all my carefully-crafted plans, and left me facing even more uncertainty than that day we landed in Eugene without any idea where we would live, or how we would support ourselves.
There are plenty of places to find retirement advice. There are entire organizations devoted to helping retirees enjoy the present and plan for the future. There are financial advisors, health professionals, mental and physical therapists, wellness gurus, life coaches, and community and senior centers overflowing with classes and workshops to help you fill every hour of the day. Boredom will never be an issue if they have any say in the matter.
The availability of help, especially in matters of health and finances, is a Good Thing. It always helps to have experts and professionals in our corner. A little guidance can save us from stumbling around in the dark and losing our way.
Still, this is a journey we all have to take, and for the most part we are our own guides. We have to, no, we get to choose the things that are important to us. Ultimately we make our own decisions, decisions that are informed by our own experiences and the experiences of the people around us.
We share those experiences as a way to try to shine a little light into the darkness ahead of us, to find a path that makes us happy, and to point out pitfalls and potholes to our traveling companions.
That’s what I’m here for, and I hope you are, too.
My choices, and my path, will always veer toward creativity. I hope yours will, too. And I hope you’ll share your path with us here.
Here’s to a long journey ahead!