February 15, 2025: 3.5 months left

My goal of posting something worthwhile every day was disrupted by illness and a trip. I have recalibrated and caught up yesterday.

I am preparing for a podcast taping this morning that I am a little nervous about. Yesterday I had the pleasure of visiting the TN Aquarium after many years. I went with my daughter-in-law and granddaughter. She said "Oh" and pointed a lot, meaning she was interacting with it and creating lots of neural pathways. It was great fun. Also, saying "daughter" is even more fun.

The Franklin Covey Planner quote for the day is profound, even if the source is considered a turncoat in the Fundamentalist world. Harry Emerson Fosdick said, Don't simply retire from something, have something to retire to. In 3.5 months, this will happen to me.

I am making sure that happens. I am retiring to family, ministry, and art. I am retiring from headaches, drama, bureaucracy, and the tedious grading of teaching. I will still get to do all the things I enjoyed about teaching.

I devoted too much of my life to a career. What is left is God's, my children's, and writing. I don't say "community" or "relationships" although those is part of all three.

A friend told me about one of her acquaintances who just decides every day what she will do in retirement. That is not my way of life. But I am perfectly capable of walking away from a place or situation. I have done it many times.

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