500 Chunks

This is my five-hundredth blog.  When I began writing in November of 2017, I had one goal, share stories of my life, so one day my grandchildren would have a better understanding of their extended family.  It’s morphed over the years into a collection of thoughts and observations.

I’d estimate I’ve written about 320,000 words, well short of War and Peace’s 587,287 or The Bible’s 783,137.  If I continue at my current clip, I’ll catch War and Peace when I’m seventy-nine and The Bible about four years later.  My writing isn’t about length but rather longevity.

I do a lot of pondering while driving and the other day, I decided most of us live our lives in chunks.  Blocks of time spent with a common purpose.  Some last years, some a few months, while others are made up of bits and pieces.

The first big chunk is childhood.  You learn about sharing, taking turns, being cared for and caring for others. During adolescence we begin to develop our sexual self with a series of physical, psychological, and social transitions.  And while many adolescents believe they know everything, they don’t’.  When I exhibited such an attitude, my mom called it getting too big for my britches.

Somewhere along the way we develop our independence.  We make a series of decisions that will impact us forever.  We decide if we’re going to continue our formal education, join the military, enter the world of work, or continue to mooch off our parents.  All such decisions require a plan of action.  Luck may have some minimal effect, but things happen because of the choices we make.

When I was getting ready to retire, I wondered what I would do to fill my days.  I had met a retiring teacher a couple of years prior, and when I asked what she planned to do for the next thirty years, she said “read”.  Although I didn’t say it aloud, I thought reading as a single purpose might get boring after a while.

I was fortunate to land a consulting gig that took a large portion of my time and expertise for the first thirteen years of my retirement.  I met new people, helped students explore career opportunities, and developed a network of business associates, but I knew it wouldn’t last forever, so I started this blog. Writing keeps my brain moving.  I’m constantly amazed by what I recall once I turn it on.  It’s a fun way to share my retirement years.

I’ll continue to share chunks of my life as long as I think I have something worth sharing.  I’ll write about things that interest me and, hopefully, you.  If you learn something new, or rekindle a lost memory of your own, I’ve done my job.