Snowbirds Will Not Fly South

The last few months have been a rather gut-wrenching time for me. Mary and I made a decision this past winter that we didn't want to make the annual move to Florida this coming fall. There are a number of reasons, none of which are of a critical nature in themselves. However, collectively they made it somewhat obvious that it was time to move into a new phase in our lives.

For the past seventeen years, we have gone to stay in our Park Model Trailer at Ramblers Rest Resort in Venice, Florida. We would head south in late October and return to Lancaster, Pennsylvania in late April. Each move involved a lot of preparation, packing, unpacking, cleaning, and setting up. When we were younger that was fun. Lately it got to be a chore. And so, we decided to sell our unit and end that phase of our life.

We had made a lot of friends at Ramblers Rest and at Trinity Presbyterian Church where we worshiped. Saying goodbye to all those friends was very hard. It was particularly difficult to leave the choir at Trinity. These people are very special. However, I have rejoined the choir at the Lancaster Church of the Brethren. It's good to sing with old friends again. Perhaps we will someday all sing together again in the ultimate choir.

Like all of you, I can identify definite phases in my life. There were the years of preparation in school. Then there were the years of working in my chosen field, teaching mathematics. During those years I also put a lot of effort into working in my church. One of the highlights was studying the bible in the Questers Bible Series. I also taught in that program for six years. Of course, the most important chore during this stage was the raising of my children.

A big change took place in 1988 when I retired from teaching. I decided then that I would not look back. I looked at retirement as a whole new adventure. The past seventeen years have been filled with maintaining a web site, hymn writing, other writing, and continued church work and in particular, singing in the choir. I have never been bored in those seventeen years. Preparation for retirement includes not only financial concerns, but finding meaningful work to keep one busy.

Now it is time to begin slowing down. The body and mind just do not have the energy they once did. I again look forward to this stage as a new adventure. I plan to continue with my writing and my web site. I also want to continue singing in the choir as long as I can. But the rule for the day is less responsibility and slowing down physically. Like all of us, I must continue to play with the cards that are dealt to me. The game continues, but with more relaxed rules. It is still not time to fold my hand.

Mary and I will now spend our winters in the North. I do not look forward to the snow and ice, but we live in a condo and will simply stay indoors when the weather is bad. We plan to enter a retirement community in a few years. God has been good to us and we plan to remain faithful to him and to the teachings of Jesus. To me that means continuing to support causes of peace and justice. We know not what the future may hold, but we will face that as it unfolds. Peace to you all.

- The Old Professor