Thursday 1 January 2015

Ready? Set? Go!

New Years is a time of reflection - where you have been and where you are going.  Where have I been this past year?  I re-read my first post in 2014 (another plus in blogging!) and this is what I wrote:  " I felt like I was standing just below the tip of a ski jump, not yet able to see what lay ahead, not even mapping it out from past experience, but finally, just ready to jump!"

Well, I jumped!  Life is all about change.  Sometimes it just sneaks up on you, like when raising a child. One day you are feeding a babe in arms and the next you are watching her walk down the aisle on her father's arm!  Other times it hits you between the eyes - BAM! - like reaching out to take the divorce papers from the courier assigned the happy job.  But there are changes we seek when we have the time to mull over the details, choose the timing and pick the path.  Like buying a new house when seeking out the mortgage, figuring out the neighborhood and then choosing your move in date gets you your new home.  Of course, nothing is ever that cut and dried!


Take my retirement for instance!  I had determined I would work until I was sixty five - fully on a pension, fulfilled with my career goals, financially ready to take on the pay-cheque empty world of retirees!  This was feeling like one of those changes that I was seeking with a plan and a destination!  Funny how life can play around with you - push your emotions, open up opportunities, close some doors and open the proverbial window.  I am a planner at heart and find the practice of just letting things happen just a little disconcerting.  If you have been reading my blog, you will have seen some posts about researching where to live for instance.  I was on the path to retiring in place - in my existing home with maybe some renovations for an income-producing suite.  Not so, said the Retirement Fairy!

An autoimmune disease set me squarely on my ass - or so it seemed one year earlier than I intended to start my retirement journey.  With fatigue clouding my work days and interfering with my work plans, I knew that I needed a big change.  Attacking the disease head on was a no-brainer but what about the work scenario and my mental health - how was I going to manage that.  Well, that's where Plan B comes in - not that I had a Plan B but isn't it amazing how, when the time comes, that Plan B shows up as though you had planned for it all the time.  Fast forward six months and I was retired in a little oasis in the desert of southern British Columbia.

So, today I wait for my fingers to find the keys that will type out my Plan A for next year.  There's that ski hill again! I see many colors glinting off the snow, some gear laying around and a few cheerleaders on the sidelines pushing me to move through the gate, swoosh down the hill and inhale the wind of change.  Some of you would be jumping up and down, anticipating the starter's gun, adrenaline pumping in your veins as you shout Yes!  I am tentative, straining my eyes to measure the distance, testing my ski poles and skis to be sure all is ready, poised on the tip and ready to push off.  I have selected my path, prepared some ideas of what that might look like, but my plan this year is not a destination, a concrete goal that announces I have arrived.  Without the months of agony I put into Plan A and B last year, this year I will push off and let gravity and a little excitement for the next adventure carry me along the course. Retirement certainly does have some benefits!

What is your plan for 2015?  I would love to hear where you are in your journey and if you have a destination in mind this year.  Please share - I forgot to tell you who my cheerleaders are - YOU!


2 comments:

  1. No matter how much control we think we have, so often there seems to be another plan, and it's usually a better one. No matter what, we have had some fun adventures in this time of life and that is awesome! Carry on my friend! We'll compare notes this time next year!
    b

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    Replies
    1. Thanks, Barb. No one knows what lies ahead but at least I have my eyes wide open!!

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