Mornings and evenings I sit on my porch. Living in the country was a lifelong dream of a girl who grew up in New York City and Chicago. Retired now, I enjoy the life of observing and participating with nature in a rural part of North Carolina, the state where I was born and where I have returned after 65 years. The porch is the best place for thinking deep thoughts or for just letting my mind drift. What is that bird I hear? Is that an insect or a frog in the trees making that noise? How many hummingbirds are visiting my feeders?
Choosing how to live my life after leaving the world of daily work was both delightfully freeing and surprisingly difficult. Working as a nurse, I had a strong sense of purpose and identity. In retirement I have loved the freedom of relaxed mornings to wake slowly to my day and decide how to spend it. But the ethos of productivity often caught me wondering if I deserved so much freedom. What is the purpose of a person who has worked in the interest of others all her life when she stops doing that formally?
These are some of the questions I will take up as I explore the world online from my vantage point on the porch.
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