I don’t know about you, but I took life for granted in my earlier days.
I felt I had a long runway and plenty of time to accomplish, succeed, and enjoy myself. I didn’t see an end. I do now. I think part of the difficulty in transitioning to life after a career is the sudden realization that you’re closer to the end than is comfortable to think about.
As I planned my Chapter X, I knew that volunteering needed to be part of it. I found an organization that connects volunteers with a variety of activities. One that felt like a natural fit was helping older adults manage their bills. I could go to their home, organize paperwork, and write out checks for their signature.
About a year ago, I was matched with a man in his 80s with macular degeneration. He can’t see the bills and needs help placing the pen on the signature line to scribble his name. We’ve become friends over this past year—a year that saw him move out of the home he lived in for fifty years and into an assisted living facility. He’s a widower with one child who lives out of state and is mentally incapable of helping him.
Each week, I walk into the facility, which is beautiful, clean, and well run, and pass residents in wheelchairs or with walkers. Some are clearly no longer mentally present and exist in the shell of their decaying bodies without joy or meaning.
I hope my life is not reduced to this state, but who knows? What it does make clear, though, is that none of us should take life for granted. We’re all going to die. Why waste the time we are given on anything other than what is meaningful, fun, and aligns with your highest values?
