It Was Twenty Years Ago Today

Twenty years ago today, I left a career that I had been in for 20 years, with 10 of the last 20 years spent at the same employer.

A job I had liked at one time had fallen apart, so much so that, over a nine month period. almost everyone in the small office I worked in (around 13 people to start) had quit.  I was one of the last ones to go.  I had clung to that job for dear life.

The next four months changed my life.

My last day of work was on a Tuesday.  The next day, a Wednesday, I waited with my elementary school son at the bus stop for the very first time, and watched him get on the bus.

Over the next four months, before I got another job, what did I do?

Two former co workers and I spent one day a week (when her condition permitted) with a friend and former co worker who was terminally ill with cancer.  It was a humbling experience.  Sadly, she passed away three months after I left that job.

I volunteered at the elementary school my son attended once or twice a week.  I spent much of my volunteer time in the school library.  I had thought strongly about becoming a librarian when I was younger, and it was a pleasure to be there.

I was able to shop in stores when they were empty.

I exercised at the YMCA.

I spent time with my son as he had four months with a stay at home Mom.

And, most of all, I spent time with an incredible book called "What Color is Your Parachute".  I had first discovered this book after losing my first job after graduating college.  That job had barely lasted a year when I found myself laid off.  That was back in 1975, and I turned to that book a couple of other times in my life.  This time, I was serious about the exercises the book teaches you to "find yourself".  For the first time, I realized what really brought joy to my life.

I was eventually fortunate enough to find another job, one that used that favorite interest, one that was so obvious that I had never realized it.  I am still in that career field today, as I approach my 65th birthday.

So, recently, I was saddened when I discovered the author, Richard Nelson Bolles, who updated the book every year since it was originally published, had died this past March at the age of 90.

Can you imagine doing something you love until you are 90?  I am in awe of this man, as I start to think about how I will spend the next portion of my life.

Maybe one day, I'll write a book that changes the lives of millions of people.  As we used to say many years ago, "wouldn't that be cool?"

The road of life, courtesy of my "guest photographer"

Maybe tonight, I'll spend some time dreaming of the next chapter of my life, just as I did 20 years ago.