The school year has ended. I have completed my 25th year of teaching and summer has begun. Believe it or not, while teachers are ecstatic about the school year ending and having some time off, there is a week or two of disequilibrium as they adjust to a slower pace. (Although it must be added that since summer is an unpaid “vacation,” some must continue a fast clip into a summer job.) Once you arise out of your stupor and realize you are free for a few weeks, you find yourself trying to accomplish every task you’ve put off for the last 10 months so that you can go back to work in August having accomplished something. At least that was always my way of doing things. But this summer is different! This is my endless summer because I won’t be returning to teaching in August. After 25 years, I have retired. Read more »

“It doesn’t feed my soul,” I remember thinking. I was in my fifties at the time, and I was referring to my job. I was quite surprised. It didn’t even sound like something I would say, but I knew what it meant. There was a void, an emptiness that needed filling. At that same time, I would often find myself saying, “When I retire I’m going to…” and I’d finish the sentence with something I’d always wanted to do, like work with animals or something creative with art or writing. I was feeling the need to dig deeper into who I was and to reconnect with the person I once had been. I felt like I’d Iost pieces of myself somewhere along life’s path, and the need to be revitalized was now hitting a crucial tipping point. Read more »