It hardly seems possible to me, but I've been retired for almost two years! It's been an interesting transition going from full-time to part-time. Sometimes when I wake up, I think what do I have to do today? Of course, there is always plenty to do except that hardly anyone will notice, one way or the other.
When I was the pastor of the Cranbury United Methodist Church, I seldom took a formal day off during the week. I had set office hours from 9 till noon, and then most days, back again after lunch or out making calls. Many times I walked to the office, stopped by Teddy's restaurant and picked up coffee, and chatted with people throughout the morning as they came into the church for one reason or another. 25 years of that in Cranbury.
But now, the world is a different place for me. Chris gets two days a week off, and they're never the same, but because I mostly don't have any place in particular I have to be, we can arrange to spend those days together, whatever they are. The rest of the time is pretty much mine, except for my part-time obligations to the church in Florence.
The thing I wonder about is: How did I get here to this stage of my life? Retirement always seemed like a lifetime away. You know, when you're a kid and you and your friends would spin around in place until you got so dizzy that you just fell down? Well, no, that's not quite it. If you've ever been put under anesthesia for some reason, and then suddenly you're being waked up? Yeah, that's closer to it. It all seems so sudden, and that day that was so far off is suddenly your present tense. The difference, of course, is that under anesthesia you don't know anything about what went on while you were under, but I remember quite well so many of the events and circumstances of my Cranbury years. And still, the time went incredibly fast.
Sorry for the rambling nature of this, but I just wanted to say that in spite of how things seem in the passing of time, it's all really very fast, very fast indeed. If you're a parent, one moment you're holding an infant and changing diapers and reading bedtime stories and all the other things that parents do. Then the next thing you know, your kids are driving and are probably taller than you and have their own opinions about things (which is the way it's supposed to be, by the way.)
The Buddhists have a saying that simply goes: "Be here now." I've thought about that so many times..."be here now." The wisdom in that is invaluable! Be present in all times of your life--good and bad. Learn from the bad, celebrate the good. It's all life. John Lennon said, "Life is what is happening to you while you're making other plans."
I will say quite sincerely and honestly, thank you to all my family, friends, and acquaintances with whom I have been journeying along the way! It is the people of our lives, with whom we spend time and work and play together that makes being here now so rich and wonderful!
I once read that as we grow old, time seems to speed up because our brain synapses are firing more slowly with age. The slower “sampling rate” makes our perceived reality happen quicker. Think of it as the opposite of the car crash we perceive in “slow motion” as a result of an adrenaline rush.
ReplyDeleteThe summers of our youth lasted forever; now they fly by. In our youth we could leisurely wait for our vertically shot arrows to get lost in the sky, “turn over” and eventually plummet toward us before we start to meander safely away; the arrow game would end much quicker now.