Had we lived in the Middle Ages my wife and I would be dead now. That seems obvious, but what I mean is that people back then tended not to live to be 58 or 63, as we have done. And yet, according to life expectancy tables, we can expect to be above ground for another twenty years.
I’m a lawyer. Denise is an art teacher. Everybody knows that teachers are poorly paid, and unfortunately the phrase “rich lawyer” never applied to me. Any competent financial planner would tell us that we should continue working at least another four years.
We have a comfortable home in Manitou Springs, a lovely town at the foot of Pikes Peak. People come from all over the world to climb the Manitou Incline. There are literally dozens of fantastic hiking and biking trails within a fifteen minute drive. One just outside our door. Garden of the Gods, reputed to be the second best city park in the United States, is a five minute bike ride from our house. And yet, we can’t wait to leave.
I’ve been a trial lawyer since 1981. Thirty-eight years of arguing is enough. I’m not just burned out. I’m a pile of ashes. A strong gust of wind and I will cease to be anything at all.
Denise is a great, loving, caring teacher. Students wept when they learned that she was retiring. An amazing number of former students have called or written, or visited her classroom, to tell Denise how she changed their lives for the better. But the education system is evolving in a way that undermines the effectiveness of great teachers.
Denise is feeling a bit singed herself.
We could quit our jobs and stay put. That would be almost as sensible as staying put and continuing to work. And as adventurous as an afternoon nap.
Learning a foreign language at age 63 (or 58) will be challenging. But nobody gets hurt if I improperly conjugate a Spanish verb. No one will sue for malpractice when I utterly fail to roll my r’s. I can establish – and then ignore – my own goals and deadlines. I can glory in success, and not be diminished by failure. Challenges need not travel in the company of stress.
One can create a challenge anywhere. We prefer that ours be at sea level, a place where snow is an abstraction, and where traffic jams happen somewhere else. Spain’s Costa Blanca will do just fine. From there we can quickly and inexpensively travel to Ireland, Italy, France, Croatia, Greece, Morocco, Germany, and many other places, each with its own rich history.
America’s landscape is both varied and magnificent. We have been lucky enough to have seen most of it. The breathtakingly beautiful countryside that spans America’s two coasts has left us awestruck. Now it is time to see cities and towns – and countryside – different from what we’ve seen before. It is time to see the world.
It is time for adventure.