I have been hearing a lot on television about the events of ten years ago. The ten year anniversary of 9/11 is upon us. It is hard to believe. Ten years ago I was at the end of my master's program. I was literally counting the days until it was over. On the whiteboard outside my office, I had a daily countdown as such:
T - 101
At about noon on September 11, I erased that countdown when I considered the number of people who would be grateful for one more day, one more hour, one more second.... no matter what the condition. And I considered that I had far too much to be grateful for to bemoan the fact that I had a job in management and was attending one of the nation's finest universities - no matter how difficult that seemed to be to me.
There are people at work who have little clocks in their offices that countdown the days to retirement. I think that is about the most depressing thing I can think of. On Tuesday I mentioned to my boss that it was my 17th anniversary, she congratulated me and said "you are another year closer..." I said "to what? my grave?" I am not working for retirement. I am working for today. Because this is the life I have.
It is a gift from God.
And if there are bees as well as a bear chasing you, it doesn't matter - just keep on running!
4 comments:
I'm with you (again). What the hell is working for retirement..does that mean you are living approximately 35 years waiting for something to happen??
And how long does it take to figure out you hate a job? I know people who "hate" the job they have been working for over 30 years!
I was dreading the date of retirement. I was grieving having to leave. But once it happened, I was happy. It was cathartic. I believe that there is a lot of living outside of the job. Amazing the things that I juggled trying to do so many things and work!
No bees.
No bears.
Just life.
You stick with things you start...that's why you're one of my heros. A sticky hero.
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