I can feel myself changing as I get closer to fifty - I think a lot about what to do with my time once my nest is really empty in a few months. That's not so unusual. I think it happens to most of us, men and women, when we hit this Midlife Adventure.
When my kids were small, most of my time was spent volunteering in one way or another (or actually several ways all at once.) As we all got older, I worked more and more (for money!) and volunteered less and less. And now, when I think of what I'd like to do with my time, most of my ideas are centered around ME - finishing MY degree, writing MY book/screenplay/short stories/articles/essays, playing MY drums...
In contrast to my self-centered empty-nest plans, about a year ago, my kids' high school Spanish teacher took an early retirement to become a missionary in Honduras. Now every month she emails a newsletter detailing her trials and achievements, prayers and blessings (here's the latest edition...Download november_2008_honduras_newsletter.pdf)
This month she talks about the village of San Lorenzo and shows pictures of the girls carrying water in large buckets on their heads and a ten-year-old boy driving an ox cart. I can sense the self-confidence and joy she's gained from her time in Honduras, her knowledge that she's making such a huge difference in the lives of those she is there to help.
I'm thinking I need to add a few goals to my Empty-Nest List...some that don't have the words ME or MY in them...
