Lesson Learning

The teacher has arrived chez moi. Textbooks opened. Pencils poised. Calculators charged. I am abuzz with learning. Need a reality check every so often to spin things back into perspective. Provide a new path. Renew plans.

Well by now you, gentle readers, know that I am in the process of re-imagining the next steps. Who I want to be when I grow up. Don't want to be whooshed into the funnel cloud. Time is a'wasting. The runway is shorter. My wings need loft. Or I need to change aircrafts. A Bell helicopter will navigate the abbreviated tarmac better than a supersonic jet. Lifting straight up. No straight-away needed. Up, up and away.

I need to elevate. Rise up. Float above the clouds for a wider view of the magical possibilities out there. An expansive glance at the array of opportunities. Wow. My goggles unsteam and I peer through the cracked lens. Mother Earth offers up some exciting and innovative options. Contributions await. New memories to create.

But first I need to reflect on the lessons learned. The bits of me that might have been sucked out by the vortex of a waning client base, a transcontinental relocation and a shrinking economy. The bandwidth is limited. Very, very crowded for card-carrying AARP members. Twentysomething whipper-snappers chomping at the proverbial bit to replace seasoned experience with high octane energy and newly minted graduate degrees. But this boomer is not quite ready to acquiesce. Nope not yet. The passion rises up. My heart races. And no, it is not fibrillations!

So in preparation (drum roll) the requisite review of lessons learned in the 21st century just as the window of opportunity falls all too quickly from sashes unbraiding and worn. Gotta pull my fingers away from the sill before it comes crashing down. My timing is good. Always was. No worries here.

Ten things realized:

1. I have surprised myself by how well I have coped.
2. I possess a wellspring of enormous resources, inner strength and a strong sense of self.
3. Even when things are dismal, they are not as bad as imagined.
4. I am in control of my life ... always.
5. Humor is the one character trait I cannot live without. Integrity the other.
6. Fear is double-sided: one motivates; the other paralyzes.
7. I give of myself regardless.
8. Disappointment is inevitable. Manage your expectations.
9. My family and friends surprise me with their generosity.
10. Dare to imagine the possibilities.

To my darling family and dear friends, and to my twin souls (you know who you are), cheers! Always.