At seventy-one, I accept the reality that I am living the third third of my life. Sometimes the realization frightens me, but at other times, it brings me peace. There is nothing I can do about time marching on, so I may as well relax and enjoy.
The realization that I am living the last years of my life also gives me a sense of urgency. If there are things I want to do, places I want to visit, or projects I want to complete, now is the time.
That sense of urgency might be anxiety-producing, but I find it somehow comforting. At my age, I have learned to accept my capabilities and limitations; I can only do what I can do. I try to be realistic about the physical changes aging brings while still pushing myself a bit, but with age has come the wisdom to know when to say “no.” Mostly, though, I am still saying “yes.”
For example, since I have no responsibilities at home that prevent me from being away, I went to Europe for a month in the spring. The first week I visited friends in Ireland, and then I went on a three-week tour of France.
I had wanted to visit the French countryside for a long time, and a tour seemed like the easiest way to go since I don’t speak French. (Whatever’s easiest is my mantra these days.) One of my favorite things about the tour is that I did not have to carry my suitcase. It is not that I can’t, because I can, but why should I when someone else will do it for me? It was such an excess, a luxury I never afforded myself when I was younger. Now, though, why not?
The biggest surprise about being this age is the confidence I feel.
When I stepped away from full-time work last year, I had no idea what was going to happen next. I joked that I was taking a sabbatical year to plan the next chapter of my life.
Over this past year, though, the next chapter has begun to take shape, and it is a shape that was completely unexpected.
After working in the nonprofit sector for more than thirty years, it turns out I am somewhat of an expert. Not only was I the executive director of several nonprofits, but I have also served on nonprofit boards. I have participated in and/or led evaluation teams of other nonprofits, and so my experience is well-rounded.
Over the years, when offered the chance to be a grant reviewer, I always accepted because I thought it would be a good way to improve my own grant-writing skills. Now I know grant-writing from both sides—as applicant and reviewer.
Add to that my desire to use what I have learned to help nonprofits improve, and I have come up with the “work” for this chapter of my life: I am a consultant.
When I was in my early fifties, a financial advisor asked me if I thought I would make more money after I retired than I did while working. “How could that happen?” I asked, genuinely confused. He said some people consult or give speeches or write books. “I don’t see any of that happening,” I told him.
But I have consulting for a while, now, and I was recently asked to speak at a fundraiser for a Christian women’s group.
Two down, one more to go.
All that remains is writing a book, and who knows? It may happen yet.
