A time

gratitude for my choice

Adam Oler will discuss Israel on 19 May from 1200-1300 eastern. The link for Zoom is in the NOTES last week or ask for it. Please invite colleagues and friends interested in crisp analysis on a truly Timely Topic.

I also finally scheduled our inaugural ActionsCreateConsequences podcast recording for the beginning of next month to learn about what military attaches do for us in country. Roy Kamphausen, President of the National Bureau of Asian Research, will discuss attaches with me based on his career in China.

What else are YOU interested in hearing in a podcast or in a Timely Topic hour? I am listening….

I went into the District two days this week, two days in a row. I am not sure I have done that in almost eleven months.

Yesterday, as I discussed yesterday, I spoke with someone who has asked me to evaluate something for him. We discussed my evaluation for an hour, concluding with some work to revise my assessment for formal submission. We also talked about his pending plans, retold stories about people we mutually knew, and laughed for a minute or two. It was a treat seeing him.

I ran into a former colleague from the National War College later in the library where her smile brightened a brief encounter as she went off to her office for potential student visits. It was again nice seeing her. Upon departing the library, I found someone else I worked with for a dozen years. She excitedly told me about her grandson turning a year old Thursday and that she was meeting as soon as we parted company. It was lovely hearing her so well.

This morning I spent a couple of hours chatting with someone I have not spoken with since I retired. He brought me up to speed on a number of issues, challenges, questions, doubts, and even some sad news about mutual friends facing illnesses.

I had lunch with a long-time colleague. We went to a taco place on the Southwest D.C. wharf which was avant garde with their contactless menu, ordering, payment, and chic ambiance. (Yes, she had to help me with the bloody payment system because, as usual, if it doesn’t fit my intuitive sensibilities, I can’t figure it out but everyone knows that about me.). We discussed an incredible range of topics. We even talked about the role that Linked In plays in the Washington, DC and the overall education community these days, rather a far cry from the topic where we began. We spent about ninety minutes chatting as if no one else was in the room. I have no doubt she went back to put in another eight hours after lunch which I did not envy.

You may wonder why that is worth noting. These were all people who at a different time in life I interacted with constantly, sometimes happily and occasionally each brought me disappointing news. In the periods I worked with each, whatever we were focusing upon seemed the most urgent issue in the world. Maybe it was, perhaps it wasn’t.

It was truly my honour that each took anywhere from two moments to two hours plus to talk with me. Over lunch, I was complimented that she asked me for career advice. I enjoyed hearing another person had enjoyed working for me as Dean and yet someone else as Provost. One always wants to hear one did well, even if one doesn’t feel entirely satisfied with all outcomes in the rearview mirror. It was great to have colleagues happy to give me a chunk of their valuable time.

But, it was time to go. It was my two days in town but I doubt I will go again soon. I know that every month my link with the past becomes a bit more distant as life shifts.

I confess that when I retired, I wasn’t sure how I would feel about my new circumstances. I knew I would not miss the killer hours and long drive but was quite unsure about the rest.

I wondered if I would be bored. Absolutely NOT. I have been writing ActionsCreateConsequence every single day for six months and it keeps me fresh. I have begun testing whether the photography I now absolutely adore is potentially something others might want to buy. I am anything but bored.

I wondered if I would get out enough. I knew my husband I liked to walk but would it be radically different doing it every single day together? Nope, the opportunity to spend the time together is an utter and complete joy. I could not imagine more fun.

I wondered if I would miss the kind of daily intereactions I described above. I enjoy them but I also can still initiate them if I want. I also have time to get to know my neighbours. I also get to serve in my community now which I couldn’t do when I was working fulltime and no one even thought to ask me. I have always said I believe in payback to society so this is my chance to serve on in an HOA capacity (It does seem a bit like dealing with academics some times).

I consciously chose to retire, had the financial wherewithall to do so, and am loving it because it is allowing me to pursue other options, to recoup my sleep a bit (still working on this one as that sunrise in May isn’t to be missed, is it?), and the like. I am able to live life in a different way without forgetting the past nor knowing the absolute trajectory of the future. It is making me life today, and the time of each day, fully.

But, it is also different. I am now watching from the outside things I was intricately involved in for thirty years at the College and NDU, and 45 years in my working career. I still have opinions but those views are mine alone. That can be frustrating at times, I won’t lie. Actions create consequences after all.

As you think about make decision points in your career, know that those trade offs exist and will confront you. But, as the Psalm says, There is a time…..I am glad I recognised, with a lot of help from friends, that it was my time to let others do their turn. FIN