Feedback from subscribers of The Gap Year
Again, you’ve shared excellent insights and wisdom from your own lives. As promised, I am now sharing these with you. (You’ll note that I place three dots… anywhere I feel the information is too personal or would not respect the anonymity of the writer.) Thinking of you warmly, Tricia
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Welcome to the Club! My X-rays continue to remind me of all the fun I've had in life's exciting journey. —D
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Being… so many… years of age is a challenge. I have fallen a few times across the years so am very careful now. Having had… surgeries I seem more stable and relieved of pain. Currently I am recovering from… surgery… and have pain there. What seems strange is that I am now the senior citizen and have few models. My father died when I was 6. My mother was 72 when she died. Your mother is one who inspires and challenges me. —A
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Dear Trish, I started to respond to your last post on Friendship but got interrupted and never got back to it. It really struck home because I had been thinking about how much I have enjoyed the time I have spent with my old Friends… this year. But it also made me think of all the new friendships I have here…. I appreciate you and your friendship so much as well as the friendships that I have with other women…. But there never seems to be enough time! Today’s topic “holding the field” is where I find myself now. Like you, I know I can’t do all the things I used to. And I really don’t want to. I want to make self care a priority (chant, walk, yoga, read) spend time with friends and family, take care of the things I’ve put off for years, (let go of things that no longer serve me)…. Thank you for being a good friend and Thanks so much for sharing the Gap Year. Love,—D
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Another synchronous link I feel with you has been in my thinking over the past few years that in my retirement, I might author a spiritual blog of some kind! I appreciate receiving your spiritworks blog and love the interactive format you use as well as your honesty in sharing. It is so refreshing! My husband (retired) and I have recently (last week!) moved to a retirement community…. One of the first new neighbors I met was a woman who spent several years teaching in… (Central America). Connecting with her is causing me to reflect on my time in mission there over the past 20 years and I wonder what will come of that. We will see where Spirit leads. I’m glad to have this opportunity to say “Hello,” and “Thank You,” and I do hope our paths continue to cross in wholeness and Spirit energy. All the best, —J
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Well written Tricia! Yes ..the alternative to 'aging'...is....! Hopefully (in spite of America's aversion to 'Death With Dignity') we will still be smiling with courage and thanksgiving. —D
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I am now… and in the older senior category. I still don’t like being called “Miss …”. I think that’s a Southern practice but people usually think I’m about 10 years younger than my biological age. That’s genetics and seeking to live healthily… I hope to continue to live independently but wonder what the next 10 years will bring. Will I decline? I wonder whether or not I will have the amount of energy needed.— A
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Hi Patricia, Between the house, family, and some recent travels, I kept Reflection #21. It struck a cord with me personally since we come from such different life experiences. I am glad that I don’t have to shed the identity of being at the top and accepting being a nobody. The one regret I have is undoubtedly the money. Perhaps it’s strange to say and feel that while I admired those with high positions and authority, I never truly felt there was a difference between us. I’ve always considered us simply humans who made choices with what we had. We are basically humans with the same needs. Some need more, some need less. If one has more (wealth)to begin with, it’s true then that the possibilities might seem endless. But,not having wealth doesn’t have to stop anyone from being who they wish to be. I simply find joy in relating to people from all aspects of life. I don’t hesitate to ask them about themselves (always the best icebreaker), and listen intently to their story because each is so unique.I suppose my point in writing this much is that it doesn’t matter how important we are or were,or were not,it’s how we look back. Choose to look back and feel proud and good because we can’t change our past, but we can embrace it.I value our friendship, and I miss being closer. I appreciate your reflections, obviously they make me think out loud and get back inside my own head. Love, —C
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Patricia, You and I were Ordained the same year (1989), I believe. Even if I am off, I know you were part of some of my pre-ordination studies as a student colleague. I retired this year on June 30…. I have been reading your blog since the mid-winter. I was reluctant to retire because I am only 64…. Framing this entry into retirement (and the first year of retirement) as "gap time" has been helpful. (My spouse)and our… children have encouraged me to stay away from ministry work for a season and give myself some time to figure out what retirement should look like. God will fill the time and space in retirement with stronger connection… and down time to heal my body and pick up old hobbies and find new ones. Thank you for sharing your experiences. It has been very helpful. —B