[00:00.00]I looked for clues to
[00:02.61]determine how striking the changes
[00:04.46]in my daily life would be.
[00:06.87] How would I spend my time?
[00:09.61] In spite of having
[00:11.58] many long yearly vacations
[00:13.88]when I could pursue other interests,
[00:16.07]I had not bothered to
[00:18.14]make an earnest effort
[00:20.00]to confine my activities
[00:21.64]to one particular hobby.
[00:23.28]Would I find life
[00:26.02]as a retiree boring? What new
[00:28.97]adventures might await me?
[00:31.27]Would I use my time to
[00:33.57]volunteer at a hospital or maybe
[00:35.65]work for a local charity?
[00:37.11]Maybe I would apply for
[00:41.27]membership in a golf league.
[00:42.58]Maybe I would donate
[00:44.99]my time and work with
[00:46.52]the Better Business Bureau.
[00:48.60]I might decide to
[00:50.79]enter local politics and
[00:52.65]run for a position
[00:54.50]on town council or I
[00:55.93] could run for the position
[00:58.12] of Deputy Mayor of my town,
[00:59.87]or maybe even consider submitting
[01:02.28] my name to be a candidate
[01:04.79]in an election for
[01:06.10] member of parliament.
[01:08.07]I would need to campaign
[01:10.04]and then wait to see
[01:11.68]if people would vote for me
[01:13.32]on election day at the polls.
[01:16.06]In spite of the fact that
[01:18.80]the possibilities all had merit,
[01:21.31] I had to admit that
[01:23.06]I only had a superficial interest
[01:25.14]in pursuing any of them.
[01:27.11]In fact, I was indifferent
[01:30.17]to most of the options.
[01:32.14]Did I think they might
[01:35.20]interfere with other commitments
[01:37.50] or mean I would have
[01:38.60]to cancel other appointments?
[01:40.35]Or was I just too attached
[01:42.97]to the idea of teaching,
[01:44.73]feeling that it formed
[01:46.80]part of my identity?
[01:48.88]I examined my emotions
[01:51.61]about the new direction
[01:53.37]my life would take.
[01:54.79]Would retirement add a new dimension
[01:57.74]to my life and multiply my feelings
[01:59.27] of satisfaction or would
[02:02.99]the world apprehension be more applicable?
[02:06.49]Did I feel guilty about
[02:09.12]not being gainfully employed
[02:11.31] when I was qualified and capable?
[02:13.17] As a certified teacher,
[02:15.68]did I feel obligated to work
[02:18.20]in the field of education?
[02:20.28]Did I feel entitled to
[02:23.24]sleep in late each day,
[02:25.21]or would that bother my conscience?
[02:27.39]Would I simply grow old gracefully
[02:29.91]or would feel that ridiculous?
[02:33.08]My instincts told me that
[02:36.58]although I would feel grateful
[02:38.00]for my good health,
[02:39.86]curiosity about other countries
[02:41.73]and lifestyles would overtake
[02:43.69]the desire to spend
[02:45.34] my time with senior citizens,
[02:47.19]playing board games,
[02:48.62]such as chess all day.
[02:50.25]Wouldn’t I rather learn about
[02:53.43]other cultures and at the same time
[02:55.51]be an ambassador for my own country |